“A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey where she will become strong” ~ author unknown
It was to become her dream.
And even though she was only five years old, when Bolton started spending her summers at her Grandma Loretta’s cottage in Erieau, the love and the peace she found there would settle into her heart and never go away.
It took Bolton forty years to make her dream of working and living in Erieau a reality. In the process she discovered more than serenity, she found herself.
“The best way to describe Erieau, is it’s where you can come and your soul will feel settled.” ~ Erin Bolton, Owner of Loretta’s of Erieau.
Bolton was born in Chatham; her parents were both hairdressers and owned salons in both Chatham and Windsor. At the age of eight, the family sold the Chatham location and moved to Windsor.
Windsor offered Bolton opportunities she might not have had in a smaller city. She played travel sports, with trips to Europe including an all-star basketball game in Switzerland. Her siblings were seven and eight years older, so Bolton often felt like an only child, often spending time working in the family business.
Up to the age of five, Bolton’s family would visit the cottage every summer, and by the time she was five, she was spending all summer at the cabin. It was just a tiny little cabin, with no indoor facilities so the family would use the communal bathroom and showers. Bolton spent her summers here until Labour Day Weekend when she would cry to her grandma “Can’t we just live here, I just want to live here”.
Bolton married young. She and her husband lived in Windsor and had two kids. His job took him away for much of their young life, with Bolton working a job at Chrysler, juggling day care and raising her children while he was away.
The family moved to Barrie to accommodate his work, but Bolton knew her marriage was fragile. She soon realized that they had very different priorities and she and the children moved back with her parents in Windsor, trying to put the pieces of her life back together seeking the support system she had relied upon before she left.
Life continued to bring it’s share of challenges, and eventually her son and her daughter chose to live with their father in Barrie.
Although her grandmother had passed away, Bolton often felt her presence in unexpected ways~most vividly when a female cardinal appeared outside her door. The first time it happened, she was working in her employer’s home, in tears as she spoke to her sister on the phone. Suddenly, a cardinal landed on a nearby branch and fixed its gaze on her. “I’ve got to go~Gramie’s here,” she told her sister. In that moment, Bolton instinctively understood the message her grandmother was sending through the bird: It’s time to pull yourself together.
Then the world shut down in response to the pandemic, and she was unable to see her children due to COVID restrictions imposed by their father.
“It’s always darkest before dawn” ~ Thomas Fuller
Bolton was at her lowest point.
She began to rebuild her life. She needed a purpose, a reason to get up in the morning so she applied to the Navy and began a daily rigorous training programme.
When the world started to creep open, her daughter Hannah came for a visit to her home in Windsor and never left. Bolton wasn’t the only one that needed a purpose for her life.
Together they embarked on a journey of healing each other and rebuilding mutual trust. Bolton never gave up on her dream of living in Erieau, relocating to Blenheim, making her desire to move to Erieau, just a little bit closer to that reality and began working as a server in a local restaurant.
The planning for a bakery and coffee shop began to take shape in a binder. Menus and schematics and a colour palette were created. She would name the business Loretta’s in honour of her grandmother, who, together with her grandfather had owned a coffee shop in Comber for seventeen years. She shared her dream with everyone who would listen, including on her frequent visits to Erieau.
It didn’t happen overnight. Two proposals for locations fell through.
And then a restaurant owner in Erieau contacted her and wanted to sell. A phone call to Matt Reaume at the Small Business Centre, started the formal process of owning a business. The binder was finally coming to life and a business plan and financial plan followed.
Reaume referred her to Community Futures CK for financing, and I met her for the first time. Eventually Brenda Richardson started to work with Bolton, fine tuning her plan, and helping her with her proposal until Richardson was prepared to present the financing application to the board of directors for approval.
Trusting someone else with her dream was difficult. “That is the hardest thing to trust someone else to sell my dream because she is not me”, she said.
And then the loan was approved by the board of directors.
When Richardson called Bolton at the restaurant to deliver the good news, she remembers going outside on the street and starting to cry.
Bolton and her daughter rented a glorified cottage in Erieau to get them into the village. Her daughter finished high school, while Bolton, having taken possession May 21, 2024, began renovations. She hired staff and she hired Emily of Resolve Consulting to assist with the details.
Bolton was overwhelmed and loving every minute of it.
Loretta’s officially opened June 13, 2024.
She took the old menu and turned it on its ear. She had a good idea of what was popular and created fanciful names to make it fun for the community like “Kathy’s Breakfast Bagel, an ode to a former owner, “Hungry Fisherman’s Breakfast”, and an “Eggs Benny Bowl” served in a heart shaped bowl.
Her colours were bold and beautiful. They opened early and closed later in the afternoon. She partnered with other businesses to promote each other and share events. Her morning videos on social media announced the daily specials and ended with her cheery greeting “Coffee’s on”!
Her goal now is to create memories of your visit to Loretta’s with her happy colours; her warm personality welcoming regulars and remembering their names. Locals support her throughout the year.
Hannah flourished too. First as a server and then taking over the kitchen during the winter months when the summer staff left, and it was just the two of them to keep expenses at a minimum. Her self-confidence increased and her healing journey was ending, having been embraced with the love of the community.
In this village of 500 residents, that grows to over 2,000 in the summer, a local restaurant was struggling for survival. That changed when Bolton stepped in over a year ago determined to give herself, her daughter and the restaurant, all she had.
This business venture became so much more. A story of resilience, renewal and unexpected healing.
As Bolton worked to revive the restaurant, she and both children began mending their relationships, discovering strength and confidence along the way; her mother bringing friends and providing support to her new venture.
Life coming full circle with love and admiration for Bolton, as a mother, a daughter and a business owner who refused to give up on her dream.
Today Loretta’s stands not only as a cornerstone of the community but as a testament to the power of perseverance.
On August 11, 2025, Loretta’s hosted a special outdoor dinner in honor of what would have been Grandma Loretta’s birthday. The gathering brought together three generations of Hertel entrepreneurial women, with Mother Nancy seated beside Bolton, while Hannah graciously served the meal.
Richardson and I were there as well. Suddenly, during dinner service, the loud song of a bird echoed nearby.
Everyone was shocked, instantly recognizing the special meaning a cardinal held in Bolton’s life~everyone that is, except Bolton, who simply smiled and said “Gramie’s here!”
