Captain’s Pie Shoppe — run with pride and gratitude from Sweet Floret Cakery
Rachael Wilson, daughter of Capt’n Cons Restaurant owner Luretta Wilson, said she has the same tenacity and determination as her mother, who she has learned from and worked with since she was a kid.
“When my mom lost the restaurant after Hurricane Helene, I convinced her that we could fix it and that we were not done. But then Milton came and at that point, we were done,” Wilson said.
She said she knew that many locals loved her mom’s pies and people kept asking for them, so she said she told her mother she thought it would be a good idea to keep busy by continuing to make the pies folks had been getting for 45 years.
Before long, Wilson said they were working hard like always, and made, she believes, more than 60 pies in the first weekend. Wilson said this was something they could do until they figured out what might come next. Wilson said her love for the Pine Island community coupled with her love for baking has made it an easy decision to make the menu items folks are used to having.
She now bakes pies and more at Sweet Floret Cakery in Matlacha.
“I’ve stayed so busy with pies, and I love all the people I’ve gotten to know better now that we don’t have the restaurant. I figured I better keep my mom’s name going and this way, people can keep getting the same things they enjoy and when she’s down here, she can come with me to events that way she can still be a part of the community,” Wilson said.
Wilson said it is important to note that she is able to make other pies, such as a lemon meringue or a buttermilk pie, in fact, she said, she will make any pie, and refuses to limit herself as she loves to bake. In addition to pies, she said she makes cookies, old-fashioned candy and she said she also makes her mom’s seafood chowder from Capt’n Cons.
“When it comes to the chowder, I can’t make it and have it every day. But I try to do pre-orders each week and then I make it on Wednesday and they can pick it up Thursday and Friday,” Wilson said.
Having dreams of her own, Wilson makes it very clear that her desire in running this business is in no way to be misinterpreted as a desire to ride her mother’s coattails from Capt’n Cons Restaurant. If anything, she said, she is determined to shine a light on everything her mother has accomplished.
“I don’t want to steal that light from her. Any items of hers that I do is only to keep her legacy alive and keep her name a part of this community. I want her to always know that people will always love her and love what she built,” Wilson said.
Wilson said she is in the bakery on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and that she is trying to make sure people have the things they want, such as menu items and even T-shirts from Capt’n Cons.
“I think I speak for my mom as well when I say we are so thankful for the decades of support and we’re even more appreciative in the aftermath of our loss, by just how many people have shown up with kind words and stood by us-people like Jodi at the bakery and Lisa at Salty Girls. I feel like we wouldn’t have continued what we were doing if it wasn’t for them helping us out,” Wilson said.
Captain’s Pie Shoppe is at Sweet Floret Cakery, 4618 Pine Island Road, Bldg A, Matlacha, FL 33993.
To reach PAULETTE LeBLANC / pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com, please email