The Happy Apple Pie Shop at 226 Harrison St. will close briefly for renovations and reopen under new ownership after Easterseals Serving Chicagoland and Greater Rockford acquired the Oak Park Arts District bakery from founder Michelle Mascaro.

Easterseals is filing for building permits to renovate the space, including work needed to install an espresso machine for a new partnership with Dark Matter Coffee. Sara Ray Hallman, president and CEO of Easterseals, told the Wednesday Journal that permits are expected within a few months, after which the shop will close briefly before a formal reopening.

No reopening date has been announced.

Mascaro and her wife founded Happy Apple Pie in 2015, inspired by their daughter Emma, who has an intellectual disability. Work to build out the 226 Harrison St. location began in 2016. The shop operates as a social enterprise employing people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. The space itself reflects that mission: automatic front door, fully accessible bathroom, open sightlines between employees and customers, and furniture that moves easily.

Mascaro had been searching for a buyer since early 2025. Easterseals approached her, not the other way around. She agreed to sell after confirming the nonprofit could operate the shop independently and would retain all existing employees.

"This seemed very much like a natural fit for us," Hallman said. "We were very like-minded in the way that we thought about serving people with disabilities."

Easterseals already runs HB Threads, a Chicago-based custom-apparel social enterprise that employs people with disabilities to develop career skills.

Pastry chef Margie Sprehe will take over day-to-day operations. Mascaro and Sprehe are working together during the transition. Beyond Dark Matter Coffee, Easterseals is partnering with two-time James Beard Award winner Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook and Michael Ciapciak of Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits in Logan Square. Pies remain the shop's core product.

No acquisition price or property transaction details have been disclosed. The Village of Oak Park's permit portal does not yet show a public record for the renovation application. Once permits clear, Easterseals will announce the reopening date and the duration of the closure.