Apple Barn Cafe celebrates anniversary

By Matthew Bernat
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE - Brimfield resident Suzanne Collins credits the success of her business, Collins Apple Barn Café, to a key ingredient – her family.
“Without my them, I never would have been able to come this far,” Collins said last week during an interview at her restaurant. “This has been a real family affair.”
Recently, Collins celebrated five years of doing business at the little red café on Route 20. In addition to getting lots of help from her seven children and husband, the secret to Collins’ success is deceptively simple: keep customers happy.
“I want to provide a comfortable place for people looking for good food. We do what we can to accommodate customers because we want them to come back,” she said.
That attitude, and a menu featuring fresh, home cooked meals along with at least one award-winning soup, has allowed Collins Apple Barn Café to develop a steady group of regulars from not only Brimfield, but other towns like Belchertown, Longmeadow and Wilbraham. It also draws patrons from the crowds that appear three times each year for the antique shows.
The café’s success is a dream realized for Collins who moved to town 15 years ago from the northern Berkshires. Before devoting herself to the restaurant she worked as a registered nurse and had jobs teaching and in administration.
When she decided it was time to open the café her family was there, helping to renovate the building and bring it up to code. One of her daughters, who studied business in college, worked to organize the café’s finances.
Now, five years later, Collins’ children still arrive to work in the café and serve up the fresh meals prepared by their mother.
Collins is quick to note she buys local produce and goods when available and most everything on the menu is prepared on site. The waffle mix is homemade, fresh bread is delivered daily and the soup is cooked from scratch, including the clam chowder, which is made with her mother in-law’s recipe. That recipe won big at a Newport, Rhode Island chowder competition.
The Apple Barn Café also offers breakfast all day with selections such as Brimfield’s Best Breakfast (three eggs, red potato home fries, sausage, bacon or ham, toast and coffee) for $6.95 and Macintosh Apple & Vermont Sharp Cheddar Cheese omelet for $6.75. Lunch selections include wraps, sandwiches, salads and a burger. The restaurant also carries their own brand of Root Beer in the bottle.
And it’s all served in the café’s inviting atmosphere. On a recent afternoon, a group of seven friends sat in one of the booths for their monthly get-together, laughing occasionally. Old-fashioned tin signs dotted the walls with advertisements for ice cream and tea and coffee. A mother and daughter walked in and grabbed a booth for lunch.
Collins said she was looking forward to many more years of being in business.
“This has been a dream of mine,” she said.
Collins Apple Barn Café is located at 52 Palmer Road (Route 20), in Brimfield. Hours are: Wednesday through Friday, 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. – 1 p.m. For more information call (413) 245-4575.