The new owners of Apple Annie’s Café and Shop are set to take over next week.
After 13 years of owning the popular Orillia establishment, Susan Willsey and her sister, Nancy, have sold the business to Kate Schroeder, her identical twin sister, Brittany, and their father, Richard.
“We have been looking to buy a restaurant or a café now for a couple of years,” Kate Schroeder explained. “We were excited when we came across this one.”
She says it was the coziness of Apple Annie’s that sold her and her family on the business.
“It’s well known,” she said. “People love it for the vibe it has.”
Schroeder says she wasn’t a customer of Apple Annie’s before finding out it was for sale.
“One of my friends told me about it, so I started coming in more and more,” she said. “I love it. I like the people and the staff.”
While negotiating the sale of the business from the Willseys, Schroeder says it was important to her to obtain the Apple Annie’s name and branding.
“It’s so well known,” she said. “When people think of Mariposa, they think of Apple Annie’s.”
Schroeder says she knows of the responsibility that comes with taking over an Orillia staple.
“Two sisters owned it before and two sisters own it now,” she said. “Hopefully, we can do it the exact same way the Willseys did because they are amazing.”
Smoothies and gelato will be new additions to the menu at when the Schroeders take over March 1.
“We want to keep the business the same for now,” Schroeder said. “We will incorporate new things as we go.”
Susan Willsey says she is thrilled to have the Schroeder sisters taking over the business.
“The best-case scenario was that it would perpetuate,” she said.
Willsey will retain the shop in the lower level of Mariposa Market and will rename it Susie Q Fudge and Gifts. Her sister, Nancy, she will be retiring.
“I’m going to continue to run the fudge and gift shop just as we have for decades,” she said. “We will still have the same great things we have sold for years with the same nice service.”
The change has been met with a positive response from the community, Willsey says. She and her sister have received words of encouragement and support from their customers.
“It’s made me feel gratified and validated,” she said. “We do work hard and do our best always. It’s wonderful to know all of that is acknowledged and appreciated.”
Willsey is happy to see younger people taking on the business.
“We are excited to see what they make of it,” she said. “We are excited to see new ideas, new technologies and a new focus.”
