Lorraine Simpson: Entrepreneur Extraordinaire

February 24, 2021 Marsha Mowers

Like many people in the travel industry during the pandemic, Lorraine Simpson has had to change direction a bit. A well-known travel agent in the Niagara region for many years, Simpson is also a guest speaker and regular travel expert for Citytv’s CityLine and was recently nominated for a 2021 RBC’s Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award.

Though her engagements keep her busy, there are still bills to be paid – Simpson says her last travel booking was last February, so it was time to reengage her entrepreneurial side.

“I’m good in a crisis, if there’s no crisis, then I’ll take to my room and go ‘I’m bored,” says Simpson. “My nature is to figure out what do we need to do, where do we need to put the bandaid and how do we fix this so we can move forward.”

It’s not the first time Simpson has started over.  Her husband died in 2005 after a four year battle with cancer, for which they spent their savings on treatments in China and Portland, OR. They had four very young children, two of whom were still in diapers, and just as he recovered and was about to start work again, he died of a heart attack.

“A lot of people think I’m doing better than I am, but I’m not, it’s completely smoke and mirrors. It’s just that I smile more, put more makeup on and I come out coming ‘woohoo, we’re good’. But really we’re not good. I’m trying to make the most of it because that’s who I am.”

Simpson built her agency from a basement office in Newmarket, ON, and sold it to a multi-national company, a decision she regrets.  She says women in business in particular, suffer from what she dubs “imposter syndrome”, constantly questioning themselves and being questioned by others.

“I became a bit overwhelmed,” she confides. “It was the ‘oh I can’t do this anymore’ and ‘am I doing this right?’ We judge ourselves let others judge us and then think ok maybe they’re right. I still feel that sometimes today.”

So she started over, again.

Simpson has changed her travel office into a Travel Café, which will serve as her travel office with staff, a shooting space and a place for people to gather over coffee and travel-themed snacks.  The café features a light-filled space and will be run by her children: the menu is designed by her 28 year old son who is a Chef, and her 18 year old son and 17 year old daughter will also work there. Prior to her travel career, Simpson owned two cafes, one in England and one in Canada, so she has the experience.

The café will feature local producers and artisan breads in dishes that are reflective of cultures around the world or as Simpson puts it, “locally produced, but travel inspired.” It will be opening early for the “grab and go lunches” and staying late for the coffee and specialty desserts like Banoffi pie in a jar or luscious lemon cheesecake with homemade lemon curd in a mason jar.

The Travel Café is located at 1501 Pelham St. in Fonthill Ontario, (at the corner of Highway 20 with ample parking) and is expected to open in mid-April. She is looking for an in-house travel agent, and encourages people to reach out to her and follow the progress, giveaways and exact date to open via @travelcafeontario.

Simpson is also planning a coffee club, where members will be sent coffee from a different country each month. It will come in a nice box with the coffee along with a story about the country that it came from. It will be tied in to help agents sell the destination it’s from and include travel package suggestions.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to start to book travel right now, so this is a way to pay the bills, give my kids jobs, and keep travel top of mind for future travelers to stop in and talk to us.”

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