THE NEWS
NEW GLASGOW – Desserts are still spinning on a display at Rita's Cosy Corner, but come Sunday, if you want a piece of mile-high coconut cream pie at the New Glasgow restaurant, you won’t be able to get it.
Owner Rita Billington has decided to either close or sell her business and focus her ambitions in a new direction.
Billington announced on Facebook Thursday that the restaurant will be closing on Saturday and confirmed later in the day that it will close if it isn’t sold.
But she says this isn’t a sad news story. She’s just decided she wants to focus on a new direction with a company called ViSalus – a health and weight loss platform that has helped her lose weight and gain a new zest for life.
“I’m a firm believer: follow your heart and you’ll never be lost,” she said sitting in a booth at the restaurant that is now located on Archimedes Street but was originally located on Provost Street.
Billington has actually been running a home-based business with the ViSalus product for the last year, but says managing it and the café became too much and she wanted to switch from feeding people fancy desserts to helping people live healthier.
“One day at a time I’m making the world healthier,” she said.
Her hope, is that someone else will buy the business and keep it running as it has for decades in the county.
“I would really like to see pretty much everything stay the same,” she said. “This restaurant is a legend in Pictou County.”
She said she has offered to stay and help whoever the new owners might be, by teaching them the recipes that have been passed down to her from her own mother who worked there, including favourites such as the cream pies and their signature fish with homemade fries made daily.
She’s already had a few calls from people who are interested in the business, although nothing has been confirmed yet. If anyone else is interested in either purchasing the Cosy Corner or wants information on her new business, she said they can call her at 759-5676.
amacinnis@ngnews.ca
On Twitter: NGNewsAdam
I am very sorry for any negative language used out of context. Customer service has always been the owners and managers top priority. My apologies on behalf of myself and the owner. Even with one day left open. This will be investigated. Thank you for your reply.