C’est Si Bon translates from French into “it’s so good,” and C’est Si Bon restaurant owner Billy Strickland hopes her good food translates into success.

The new Canal Winchester restaurant, located at 11 S. High St., opened its doors May 15 and business hasn’t slowed since, according to Strickland.

“We’re so thankful for Canal Winchester for giving us a place to make our business so successful from day one,” Strickland said.

“The first day we were open we were bumping into each other because we were so busy.”

Canal Winchester’s Art Stroll brought even more customers in during Strickland’s first weekend.

“The arts festival was a phenomenal turn out — our doors were packed,” Strickland said.

“We had so many people come in during the festival and they’ve come back again and again,” Strickland said.

“It’s all been word of mouth so we’re really thankful they’ve welcomed us.”

Strickland and her family, which includes her husband and six children, live in Pickerington, but chose downtown Canal Winchester because they believed it fit with their vision of bringing a quaint, Parisian atmosphere to central Ohio.

“My husband and I had a three-week trip to Europe and when we returned we decided we really wanted to open a creperie here,” Strickland said.

“We love the tradition of Canal Winchester and its old historic downtown that’s small and quaint,” she said.

“I wanted to create that Paris feel, and I want people to feel like they’re stepping into a little piece of Europe.”

C’est Si Bon does that with decor that includes a simple gas burner stove and the original brick chimney, framed with soft colors and a comfortable French Victorian era couch as a seating option.

“We play French music, have bistro chairs setup and use very pretty colors,” Strickland said.

“We have a romantic feel and I just love it,” she said.

Crepes are the primary menu item. They are a very thin pancake, that is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, served with fillings that range from sweet in taste to savory.

“Our crepes are made fresh to order for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert,” Strickland said. “We have savory crepes with meats, cheeses and our own fresh-made sauces.

“We have sweet crepes like Nutella with fruits and pralines.

“We’ve got about eight sweet crepes and 10 savory on the menu, and breakfast crepes can include all sorts of things like eggs and ham,” Strickland said.

“We also have Italian soda and French press coffee.”

The prices for a crepe range from $4.25 up to $6.25, made to order, according to Strickland, and as the business grows she plans to add more options.

“We’re so happy to be attracting people both young and old.”

C’est Si Bon is open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and closed Sunday.