CAZENOVIA — This spring, Cazenovia High School graduate Annie Skinner and her family are preparing to open Annie’s Sweets & Treats on Rt. 20 in Morrisville.
The new business will offer Gifford’s premium hard ice cream, Queensboro Farm Products soft custard, homemade ice cream sandwiches and cakes, and a variety of bakery items, including breads, cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, cookies and pies.
According to Skinner, most of the bakery items will be made in-house, but the shop will also offer locally made products, such as Utica coffee, Jackie’s Jams & Jellies, and Westfall Maple products.
Skinner, who currently lives in the Eaton area, graduated from Cazenovia High School in 2017. Last month, she graduated magna cum laude from Nazareth College with a bachelor of fine arts in theatre design and technology.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Skinner decided to put her prospective theater career on hold.
“I’ve worked in leadership positions in ice cream, chocolate and pastry shops for the last four years, and my family has always dreamed of opening our own sweets business, so I decided to take the leap with them,” Skinner said. “. . . This is the area that I grew up in and am most familiar with, and Morrisville was in need of new businesses, so it seemed like the perfect fit.”
Skinner and her parents purchased the 3,000 square foot building at 10 E. Main St. in Febuary 2021.
“Based on Annie’s decision and her work ethic, her dad and I decided to go in on this dream with her,” said Skinner’s mother, Deb.
The family has been remodeling the space on weekends since March. While she was away at college, Skinner help out whenever she could make the drive out from Rochester.
“It wasn’t until early May when I graduated college and moved back to the area that I was able to start working on the remodeling process full-time,” she said. “My family and I are doing all of the remodeling ourselves, which was a total makeover for the space, including painting, trim work, completely redoing the kitchen, electrical work, a few new windows, and new counters.”
The transformed space will feature an ice cream counter, a bakery counter, an area for retail items, and seating in the back. Outdoor bench seating will also be available.
The new business, which will be run by Skinner, her mother, and her sister, Katie, is expected to open by July 1, 2021.
For updates, “like” Annie’s Sweets & Treats on Facebook, or follow annies.sweets.and.treats on Instagram.
