The original Sofi’s Crepes — founded nearly 20 years ago in Station North — will close this spring as founder Ann Costlow prepares to retire.

Costlow, 66, said Wednesday that she’s ready to focus on other pursuits after two decades in the often grueling restaurant business.

“I have been doing this for 20 years and I have loved almost every minute about it,” she said, “but, really, I’m ready to retire. It’s challenging running a business alone, but a restaurant has unique issues.”

The restaurant’s last day in business will be March 18 — 20 years, to the day, since Costlow opened Sofi’s Crepes in 2004.

At the time, she was finding a new path after a 16-year career as a stockbroker. Costlow took a leave of absence from her finance job in 2002 and started working as a galley cook on the Pride of Baltimore, a historical reproduction of a 19th-century Baltimore clipper ship. She realized she preferred the chef’s life over managing stock portfolios.

“Honestly, it completely changed my life,” she said. “I realized that I loved cooking, and food made people so much happier than bad stock choices.”

Costlow, who was previously married to a Frenchman, decided to start a creperie. She traveled to France to study the art of crepe-making and then returned to Baltimore, where she opened Sofi’s Crepes at 1723 N. Charles St., next to the Charles Theatre.

She named the business after her dog, Sofi, whose back legs were paralyzed from a spinal injury in her final years of life. The handicap “never stopped her as she enthusiastically rolled herself everywhere by way of a cart,” Costlow wrote on the Sofi’s Crepes website. “She was an inspiration to me and never wavered in her joy, light spirit and playfulness.”

The tiny crepe shop has just a handful of bar stools for seating — a 2004 Baltimore Sun article called it “vest-pocket-sized” — but draws a large share of business from diners headed to the movies. Costlow serves a menu of both sweet and savory options, from classic Crepe Suzettes filled with orange marmalade and Grand Marnier to the “Kevin Bacon,” stuffed with turkey, bacon, cheese, tomatoes and Thousand Island sauce.

Over time, the small creperie expanded, adding locations throughout the state and one in Delaware. At its peak, Sofi’s Crepes had seven locations: two others in Baltimore City (Fells Point and Belvedere Square), two in Anne Arundel County (Annapolis and Severna Park), one in Owings Mills and one on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.

The two Anne Arundel County stores, which are franchisee-run, will remain open, Costlow said. She also plans to continue offering catering services and selling Sofi’s Crepes batter to Graul’s Market stores.

Costlow said she struggled to make the decision to close the flagship store where it all began. Despite challenges like theft, inflation, staffing shortages and reduced foot traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic, “when you own a restaurant, you still feel an obligation to the community,” she said.

A conversation with a business consultant helped shift her perspective.

“She said to me, ‘Ann, businesses have a beginning and an end,’” Costlow said. “‘What do you want to do, die in the business and then it will be closed?’”

Costlow already has plenty of plans for retirement. She’s getting married this spring and wants to travel. She also serves on several local boards, including the Pride of Baltimore’s board, for which she is vice chair.

Before Sofi’s Crepes closes, she hopes to throw a party to say “au revoir” to the community. And she hopes longtime diners will come in for one last crepe.

“The people of Baltimore have really supported me,” Costlow said. Closing the shop “was probably one of the hardest decisions I ever made, because I absolutely loved it.”