Got a sweet tooth? Lee’s Candies has been hand crafting chocolates in Boise for decades

Got a sweet tooth? Need a belated holiday gift?

Lee’s Candies in Boise makes chocolates, truffles, fudge, caramels and nut clusters by hand in the back room of its Vista Avenue storefront.

The family-owned business, passed down through generations after getting its start in downtown Boise in 1947, sells over 100 types of candy, made with the same recipes and techniques the shop used 70 years ago.

Its most popular product off the shelf is its “greatest hits” 1-pound assorted gift box, which has a little bit of the best of everything the shop makes, co-owner Katie Fernandez said. That includes its orange cream truffle, available in milk or dark chocolate (like most other treats at Lee’s); its Monte Carlo, packed with a soft caramel center and vanilla cream; and its Victoria cream, which has butter rum and pieces of walnut.

“Those three are our most popular flavors,” Fernandez said. “Our peanut brittle, caramels and turtles, which we call slowpokes, are also super popular.”

The shop’s caramel is made in a copper kettle in the back of the store. Chocolates are rolled by hand and the sugar-butter mixture that forms toffee is poured out on large stone tabletops, where its topped with chocolate and nuts and later, once cooled, broken apart.

Workers at the store make up to 5,000 pieces of candy a day leading up to the holiday season.

The busiest month for Lee’s Candies is December, where the stop makes about a third of its sales. Business picks up again around Valentine’s Day, Easter and Mother’s Day, Fernandez told the Idaho Statesman.

“Christmas is by far our busiest time of the year,” Fernandez said. She co-owns the store with her father, Ken Fernandez.

The father-daughter duo bought the shop from the Nokleby family in 2020. Founder Lee Nokleby retired in 1983, passing the reins to his son Curtis Nokleby, who ran the store for decades before retiring himself and selling it to the Fernandezes.

Dozens of customers stopped by on the Thursday morning before Christmas to buy gifts for loved ones. Several told a Statesman reporter they’d been going for years, and that the location is a top spot for high-quality chocolates.

Barbara Kennedy, of Boise, said she’s been buying chocolates from the shop for over 35 years. She usually picks up gifts for birthdays, holidays or other special occasions.

“They make their own products in store, so not only is it a local business, but the chocolates and everything are hand-dipped right here in town,” Kennedy said. “So it’s perfect for a special gift from Boise.”

This holiday season, she ordered some of the store’s bridge mix, which includes chocolate-coated nuts, raisins, brittles and caramels. A 1-pound box costs $31.50.

Judy Link also visited the store for some holiday gifts.

“They happen to have just what I wanted this year,” Link told the Statesman. And what might that be? Chocolate Santas, chocolate presents and chocolate balls for her son- and daughter-in-law. Link said she liked supporting the locally owned business.

“Their candy is very good,” she said.

Co-owner Fernandez, who was on a first-name basis with several customers, moved between the back and front of the store, helping customers order while orchestrating the candy-making in the backroom.

She helped Sean Mallea, in town for Christmas, place a gift order for a few of his family members. Mallea grew up in Boise but now lives in Eugene, Oregon. He recalled going to Lee’s Candies as a kid.

“I’ve been here many times,” he said. “It’s great quality, which takes some of the guesswork out of it.”

Mallea got almond brittle for his aunt, which he “know(s) she likes.”

He also ordered half a pound of caramels with walnuts for his mother and another half pound of pure caramels for his girlfriend’s mother.

Fernandez said the best part of the job is talking to customers who’ve supported the business long before she and her father took over.

“A huge part of our customer base is those loyal customers that have been coming for years,” she said. “I don’t think I ever work out front without hearing some story from somebody whose family has been coming for generations — customers who either used to go when they were little, or their mom or grandma used to do it and they carry on the tradition.”

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