Hudson’s ‘Cookie Lady,’ opens Nestle Toll House Cafe

by Michele Collins

Hudson may soon become a dessert destination with the opening of a Nestle Toll House Cafe by Chip at 105 First St. in the First & Main development.

Resident Sue Le Sueur, the self-proclaimed “Cookie Lady,” owns the franchise location, which she plans to debut in December.

“I had hoped to open this summer, but due to the pandemic, we had to delay permits, etc., and now we are shooting for a Dec. 17 opening,” she said.

Le Sueur said she and her son Christopher, a Hudson High School senior, recently returned from Nestle Toll House Cafe company training in Texas and are ready to make specialty sweet treats along with coffees, frappes and drinks. Toll House cookies will be baked fresh and served warm, she said, and available in a variety of sizes and quantities. The shop also will carry ice cream treats – including ice cream sandwiches made with a variety of cookies – a menu of “savory” sandwiches, wraps, paninis and flatbreads plus cookie trays and cookie cakes.

Trays and cakes can be ordered in advance online, Le Sueur said, and “are perfect for bridal and baby showers, birthdays and holidays.”

She hopes visitors to First & Main will stop in for lunch and their favorite treat.

Le Sueur said the timing “just felt right” for starting a business, giving her something to focus on after her son goes off to college next year. The HHS student plans to help get the cafe off the ground and return to help out on his breaks.

The Nestle Toll House Cafe by Chip chain started in 2000. The company currently franchises over 90 bakery cafes across the country. Le Sueur said the closest location to Hudson is Toledo.

What the Cookie Lady is most excited about is being part of the Hudson business community and providing a delicious dessert break to her friends and neighbors. “I have been welcomed by so many of the business owners here. They keep asking when we will be open,” she said. “I am just so excited to do something like this. It does not even feel like work. I mean who doesn’t love cookies?”

Feature image photo caption: Sue Le Sueur is opening a Nestlé Toll House Café by Chip franchise with the help of son Christopher, a Hudson High School senior.