Got a sweet tooth? Two candy stores look to satisfy your cravings in Oconto County
How sweet it is to run a candy store in Oconto County.
The Candy Shop added to businesses catering to those with a sweet tooth when it opened its doors Thursday at 1029 Main St., in Oconto.
"(We) decided to open a candy shop because I think that is something that would be fun for downtown Oconto," said Lynn Hearley, who along with her husband Todd also own the coffee, tea and ice cream outlet, The Shop on Main, 821 Main St.
The store doesn't make it own chocolates and treats, but buys many of them direct from small companies.
"There’s such great companies that make fabulous products now that unless you are doing on a large-scale basis it’s hard to be profitable," Hearley said.
The Candy Shop joins Sweet Memories Candy Shoppe, 15381 Highway 32, in Lakewood as businesses who aim to satisfy area residents craving sweets.
The Candy Shop
The Candy Shop strives to bring back the taste of the past to Oconto.
"One of the things that we did, my husband and I attended a candy expo in Chicago and we chose a lot of small company, family-owned businesses that make candy," Hearley said. "So some of them are very nostalgic that have been made from since the early 20th century – 1908 one of them is – and the grandkids are bringing the recipes back and making them."
Stuckey's pecan log rolls, Valomilk (a creamy vanilla marshmallow treat coated in chocolate) and Zingerman's handmade candy bars are some of the old-fashioned treats available.
Moonshine Fudge also have caught customers' attention with its variety of flavors, including chocolate peanut butter, pecan turtle, salted caramel, creme brulee, black cherry and strawberry cheesecake.
The no-sugar-added chocolate turtles made with either pecans or cashews also have made mouths water.
"We really have a wide range of stuff; it’s kind of crazy," Hearley said. "But that’s what I like. I don’t like to have anything that is what everyone else has."
The Candy Shop also sells saltwater taffy and homemade popcorn, as well as stuffed animals and wooden games.
Its hours are Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., being closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Sweet Memories Candy Shoppe
With room after room of fudge, fine chocolates, ice cream, toys, and of course – candy, Sweet Memories Candy Shoppe is a Northwoods tradition for residents and visitors to Northern Oconto County.
Owner Wendy Wimberger, the Willy Wonka of Lakewood, connected a house with a barn in 1993 to create a sprawling, two-story shop filled with sweet surprises around every corner.
Kids can get their fill of sweets from shelf after shelf of candy and floor-to-ceiling bins of salt water taffy, Jelly Belly jelly beans, bulk candy, and PEZ candy dispensers.
Adults can select turtles, creams, melt aways, toffee, and other fine chocolates. They can take a trip down memory lane to the nostalgic candy room where they’ll find old-time candy favorites like candy buttons and wax bottles. They can also reminisce by Zoltar, the fortune-telling machine that famously made Tom Hank’s 13-year-old character into a 30-year-old man in the 1988 movie, “Big.” Zoltar is new at the store this year, along with new candy varieties, fudge flavors, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream favorites, toys and gifts.
Guests can snap photos at candy-themed selfie spots, watch the toy train travel from room to room, and enjoy a hand-dipped ice cream cone while listening to the old-fashioned player piano.
The store's summer hours are 10 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. Friday through Monday.
Samantha Boucher, the tourism director for the Oconto County Economic Development Corporation, contributed to this report.
Contact Kevin Dittman at 920-431-8416 or kdittman@gannett.com.
MORE: Vendor market, farmers market on tap this summer in Oconto County
FOR MORE OCONTO COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website!
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Two Oconto County candy stores look to satisfy your cravings
