Schmidtsville Restaurant welcomes back former Gazette editor Veronica Reiner

Former Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette editor Veronica Reiner, left, visits with Schmidtsville Restaurant owner Miriam Kuepfer. Kuepfer says a brand-new menu will debut in the new year. Gary West photo

By Gary West

A familiar face returned to Wellesley last weekend when former Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette editor Veronica Reiner stopped in at the ever-popular Schmidtsville Restaurant.

Reiner, who helped shape the Gazette during its period of rapid readership growth alongside owner and publisher Stewart Grant, is now continuing her journalism career at the University of Waterloo where she works with students pursuing media and communications while helping produce a campus newsletter.

Her visit brought smiles from restaurant owner Miriam Kuepfer, who runs Schmidtsville with her husband, Glenn Kuepfer. Miriam Kuepfer said it was a pleasure to reconnect and hopes Reiner will stop by again.

Schmidtsville has long been a fixture in the village. In an upcoming edition of the Gazette, readers will find a deeper dive into the history of the restaurant and gift shop – a history tied closely to the roots of Wellesley itself.

In 1866, John George Reiner arrived in the village and would go on to build, in 1880, the structure that now houses Schmidtsville. While Reiner is unsure whether her family tree connects to John George, she joked that “stranger things have happened.”

The restaurant’s name is also a nod to local history; Wellesley was originally known as Schmidtsville, named after early settler John Schmidt, who arrived from Lancaster, Pa.

More stories about this landmark and its legacy will be shared in future editions of the Gazette.