La Vie Sucrée
is something that she has always wanted to do. “I think I’ve always wanted a boutique and I’m a Christmas nut. The fudge was a bonus, I think there is so much that can be done with it.”
Before the business is officially in her hands, Matthews is sharing all her secrets with Hamelin on how to make her famous fudge. “The first time, I was so nervous. I baked for years but just having her watch over me making fudge was a little bit scary because this is her thing, right? But she was really great to work with and to teach me.”
La Touche Finale, which has been Hamelin’s business name for years, will continue to embrace the Christmas spirit and sell the famous fudge, but Hamelin hopes to make the business her own. “I’m going to keep the whole Christmas thing. I will switch it up a bit but that will be just before Christmas so people will have to wait to see. I’m going to add my touches to it. I do a lot of crafts, so I will bring my stuff in. If I can’t do it with fudge, I will do it with chocolate.”
Hamelin will be making the fudge on site and she might add a little bit of her own sweetness. “If I do, I think it will just be simple pastries; I’m sort of over cakes and pies. Maybe simple things that would accompany the fudge, but nothing big; those days are over.”
La Touche finale will branch out into social media, where Hamelin will keep customers updated on what’s in store, and she wants to create a website specifically for the fudge. “For online, I would like to do fudge sales because Lynn would ship to other places and fudge can go everywhere. I would like to do a website for online sales because fudge is versatile, and it’s not like chocolate. It’s not going to melt being shipped to Alberta. It has potential.”
Hamelin hopes that she can continue to carry on the success that Matthews has worked hard to acquire. “I’m hoping that it’s a continued success. I know I’m not Lynn, and she has been well known for all these years, but I’m just hoping I can do the same. I want to make a store that I am proud of, and my family, and keep it going.
I’m excited.
As for Matthews, she is happy to be moving forward and to have the business in new hands. “I can’t wait. I’m so relieved that the responsibility of it is going to be gone. I’m ready to retire. I’m ready to do new things, to take a trip, to make other plans.”
With a new baby granddaughter, she and Roger have much to look forward to. “We have a new granddaughter, about six weeks old now, so that’s going to be a huge change in our lives. We are fully prepared to cuddle and we’d like to take a trip while we are still well enough and too many years have gone by.”
She will always keep a foot in the community that has supported her all of these years. “We won’t disappear from the scene. I’ve volunteered my whole life. I haven’t had much time lately, but I’ll find something else to volunteer at. I’m not really a person who can sit in the house seven days a week and do nothing. I’ll find something to do and places to go and places we can offer our time. This is my community with many generations here.”