Retiring owner of beloved Ann Arbor breakfast spot reflects on business success

Breakfast and lunch spot Afternoon Delight has been a fixture in downtown Ann Arbor since 1978, and owner Joanne Williams is hoping someone will carry on the restaurant’s legacy when she retires later this year.

Williams has worked at the restaurant since 1979, when she was in high school.

“We’ve been here so long. People know us,” Williams says. “We get generations visiting us. People go to college here, their kids go to college here, and then their kids’ kids come here. … It’s like a family. Everyone knows everyone. We have regulars and see the same faces over and over.”

Opened by Tom Hackett in 1978, Afternoon Delight is known for its homemade soups, muffins, and sandwiches. Williams also notes that the restaurant was an early adopter of both frozen yogurt and vegetarian and vegan menu items. Williams became a partner in the business more than two decades ago and Hackett retired in 2020. 

If someone were to buy the business, Williams says she’d recommend that they “keep the muffins the same.” She notes that they have been the same since the restaurant’s beginning. 

“The way things are set up, it could successfully be cafeteria-style again, which we used to do in the early days,” she says. “People are looking for something quick, fresh, local, and independent. It’s so rare to find an independent restaurant.”

Williams thinks the restaurant has been doing well, but says it needs to be brought into a new generation by embracing social media and new trends. 

“I think it needs some new insight and some changes,” she says. “… We have a good crew. We have all the equipment. There’s a lot of stuff here. We’ve done a lot of trial and error. We still have frozen yogurt. We could be kept around if someone wants to take it on. We have a great location between campus and Main Street.”

Williams says she’s “very excited” about moving into retirement, but it’s also hard to walk away.

“I don’t know how to let go,” she says. “I’m here every day and am involved in everything about the business. It’s bittersweet.”