Thomas Williams, who was Mayor of Wheatland in the '50s and '60s, believed in the future of the town and all of its possibilities.

His granddaughter, Jodi Williams-Rochow, has taken on that belief and with the help of two partners, is working on a possibility of her own.

Opening the Golden Apple Inn Restaurant last April in the former Broadway Inn was her way of validating her grandfather's belief in Wheatland.

"I think we're an asset here," said Ms. Williams-Rochow about the home-style restaurant and lounge. "We don't have a bar crowd here. We're mostly a family restaurant business."

Ms. Williams-Rochow, Shenango Township joined together with Robert Glover, of Mercer, and Frank Smith of Hermitage and formed a corporation, Golden Apple Inn, Inc.

The trio, who were all friends, then purchased the former tavern, which had been closed for a couple of years, in Oct. 1999.

"Bob used to run Bogart's in West Middlesex, and I've been doing catering for the past ten years," said Ms. Williams-Rochow. "Frank was a corporate credit manager for 17 years, and helped me with my catering business for the past four years."

She and Smith run the kitchen, which includes the dining area which seats about 80 people, and Glover runs the bar.

The family-style restaurant specializes in homemade soups and entrees, especially pies with homemade fillings and crusts made from scratch.

"I'm known as the pie lady," said Ms. Williams-Rochow, who is also thinking of starting a Internet pie-shipping business. "Coconut cream is my most popular. I also do unique pies, such as banana split, raspberry creme, apple cranberry, and cherry berry."

The atmosphere is reminiscent of grandma's farm house, with wood from a barn lining the inner walls, and country decorations on the walls and tables, as well as a crackling fireplace in the non-smoking section. The lounge, which houses the smoking section, is lined with wooden booths, and is well separated from non-smoking with a wall.

"It always makes me laugh when you go into a restaurant and one table is non-smoking and the table next to it is smoking, like that stops the smoke drift," Ms. Williams-Rochow said with a smile.

She still does catering, now out of the restaurant, which includes baby showers, rehearsal dinners and graduation parties for up to 50 people.

Future plans may include a banquet facility upstairs, more outside remodeling, and increasing the size of the kitchen.

"Our main clientele are young families and the elderly, as well as a nice business lunch crowd," said Ms. Williams-Rochow, who says their restaurant is here to stay.

"Being in this area has a domino effect on other businesses around us. If we make improvements, it almost forces other places to make improvements to compete. I think we're an asset here," she added.

And what would her grandfather, the former Wheatland Mayor, think?

"I think he would be proud. He was so proud of this town; he loved this town," said Ms. Williams-Rochow. "We plan on staying in Wheatland."