Pictured: Ann Mae's spring menu: almost too pretty to eat. Photo credit: Ann Mae Events.

Lori Meyer, who spent 25 years as a contractor, was the friend everyone told to quit her day job. “You should do this for a living,” they said, “this is too pretty to eat,” while devouring her baked goods. The instinct started as a teenager, babysitting, when she’d end up in the kitchen boiling pumpkins and rolling dough to keep everyone busy.

Eight years ago, Ann Mae Events, “small-bite hospitality and specialty treats,” launched in Colorado with a black-and-white trailer and a rotation of community gatherings: the Big Horn Sheep Festival, Country Christmases, Victorian-themed events. When the family relocated to Florida, Lori and her daughter Laney brought their mother-daughter business to resort-style communities, corporate lunches and local markets across Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Venice.

The charm of Ann Mae lies in the details. Monthly pop-ups arrive dressed for the season with a unique menu and theme. Coordinated baskets, tablecloths, cake stands and cloches transform a counter into a mini celebration. St. Patrick’s Day brought Corned Beef, Cabbage & Swiss pasties served in a leprechaun hat bag; a four-leaf clover napkin accompanied a buttery Irish Apple Coffee Cake. Easter arrives with what Lori Ann calls “a little bit of eggy, a little bit of bunny”: Chocolate Nest Cookies with Cadbury eggs, Sugar Cookies with sprinkled bunny tails, coconut bars with jelly beans, all dressed in polka dots and pastels.

Still, the scones shine: Bartlett Pear in barely-there glaze, lemon blueberry alongside house-made lemon curd. Savories hold their own, too: tomato-and-bacon puff pastries, cheddar biscuits and varieties of quiche. Prices hold at $6 or under. “I’d rather bake more than raise the prices,” Lori says.

Ann Mae also handles private orders and wedding dessert bars up to 200 guests. Every second Saturday, find them at the Waypoint Artisan Market in Palmetto. As they wrap their treats in satiny bows, the name falls into place: Ann for Lori’s middle name, and Mae for Laney’s—after her great-grandmother.

Ann Mae Events, annmae.events, 720-939-3038.

Pictured: Ann Mae's spring menu: almost too pretty to eat. Photo credit: Ann Mae Events.

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