WILMINGTON, N.C. — Apple Annie's Bake Shop is a community staple in Wilmington, but like many small businesses, it was taken by surprise in 2020 when the pandemic slashed its profits and production.
- The bake shop was founded in 1984 and has since expanded to two locations
- The lead decorator has spent more than 30 Valentine's Days in the back of the bakery
- Holidays always bring an increase in customers and revenue
They managed to hang on through the shutdowns that followed, with enough local support to keep the beaters turning, but Hans Westermark, the lead decorator for the shop, said those were some of the toughest months he's seen in his 30-year career with Apple Annie's.
“When COVID first happened, we went down over 70%, and we had a skeleton crew here that was just trying to keep everything going,” Westermark said. “We hung in there long enough and didn't die.”
For a bakery of this size, holidays are the money-maker and local customers make all the difference.
Valentine's Day is a chance to make up some of the revenue they've lost over the course of the pandemic, but they face competition from bakeries in grocery stores.
“If you're going to go to a grocery store to buy your baked goods, they're all getting their stuff from the same place,” Westermark said. “We're making our stuff. This would be the equivalent if you're going to make something from scratch at home.”
Ani Grigore has been working at the bake shop since 2015 and got most of her experience from Apple Annie's, but she said a bakery like this is a rare find today, let alone now that the pandemic has impacted sales.
“A lot of the places where I'm from, all the traditional bakeries, are gone,” Grigore said. “They all shut down, all of them. So you can't find a place like this anymore. So I came down here, and I found this place, and I was like we've got to keep it running and going.”
All of the sweets coming from Westermark's bench in the bake shop are a product of his love and passion for decorating. He found his place at Apple Annie's when he was still in high school and each holiday is a chance to improve on what was done the last year.
“I was getting prepared in January,” Westermark said. “We're always thinking ahead.”
“Hans is literally a genius when it comes to cakes and pastries and everything,” Grigore said.
Many things have changed about Apple Annie's over the years, but in all his time at the shop, the one thing that's stayed the same is the men who come running in at the last minute on Valentine's Day looking for a delicious treat for their special someone.
Lucky for them, they ended up in just the right place with just the right people in the back who pour everything they have into their work — hoping to keep Apple Annie's around for another 40 years.
“Keeping Apple Annie's the way that they've been since the first day that they opened here because that's what the locals want,” Grigore said.