Yummy Treats Candy & More to bring unique sweets and snacks to Marion - what to expect

Candy cravers in Marion only have to wait a little bit longer to get their favorite treats in their own backyard.

Local entrepreneurs John and Jackie Haupt are the owners and operators of Yummy Treats Candy & More, located at 140 E. Center St. in downtown Marion. The new store is scheduled to open Sept. 5, just ahead of the Marion Popcorn Festival, which runs Sept. 7-9 in the downtown. Look for "Little Elvis" when you pay them a visit.

Following a visit to the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago, the largest confectionery and snack event in North America, John said he and Jackie caught a vision to bring a candy store to Marion County.

"For three days, we go to go into the world's largest candy and snack shop and everything was free," John said. "We saw so much candy and other stuff that you just don't see anywhere (in the United States). We were like, 'You know what, Marion needs this.'"

Candy from all over the world

"The diversity of candy from all over the world" at the expo in Chicago served as the catalyst for the Haupts to seriously pursue their dream, Jackie said.

"It was really exciting for us and we knew it would be exciting if we could bring some of those candies from other countries here to Marion and offer it to people who don't normally get to see that kind of stuff," she explained. "We were excited about it and thought that other people would be excited, too. And people we've talked to about the store are really excited about it opening."

The unique selection of candy and other snacks includes offerings from Australia, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and Turkey to name a few. They plan to stock some sweet yet healthy snacks, too, in the form of plant-based candies. They're looking into bringing in some anime-themed candies and snacks made popular on social media. Of course, they have the traditional sweet treats, such as numerous flavors of cotton candy, taffy, hard candy of various sorts, lollipops, and others.

"Something for everybody is what we're trying to do," Jackie said. "We're also going to be doing some custom candy bouquets and gift items like that. Custom stockings for Christmas that you'll be able to fill here in the store."

Partnering with neighboring businesses

They settled on locating in downtown Marion, due in large part to the renaissance that's occurring in the heart of the county seat. John said they've already established some positive relationships with their downtown neighbors, including Ready Up, a video game store located at 143 E. Center St. across the street from Yummy Treats Candy & More.

"We've talked with them quite a lot and they said they're disappointed because some places are closed in the evenings when they're still open and having gaming tournaments," John said. "We told them we would stay open when they're doing tournaments so the players can come over and get snacks."

John said they plan to operate from noon to 7 p.m. when they open to the public. As mentioned, the store will remain open later to accommodate their neighboring retailers when they stay open late.

Their children, Jonathan Haupt and Selah Coen, are equally excited and are looking forward to being part of the team when Yummy Treats Candy & More opens in September, Jackie said.

For information about Yummy Treats Candy & More, go to its Facebook page or call 740-262-0690.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Yummy Treats Candy & More will bring the world's sweets to Marion County