Sweet treat shop a legacy of late husband
A kilometre out of Richmond’s town centre, in the middle of a large grassy section, lies a small shop in a cottage laden with sweet treats.
What The Fudge opened this month at 404b Lower Queen St, offering goodies like cakes, slices and, of course, fudge, made with love by owner Lisa McEwing.
For McEwing, the cottage – the physical manifestation of the online baking business she started from her home a year ago – is far more than a shop.
It is a legacy of her husband Mat, who died six months ago after a long battle with multiple illnesses. McEwing said she had “always loved” baking and sharing the end product with others. It was only when walking became too hard for Mat in 2022 that she started selling fudge to try to raise money to buy him a mobility scooter.
She raised enough money “with the love and support of amazing people“in the community, she said. But after that, people kept asking for more fudge.
“People didn’t stop messaging,” she laughed. To be able to meet the demand, McEwing had to register her kitchen. She did so early last year – at the home the family was renting in Tāhunanui in Nelson – and the business was born.
A friend came up with the name, which she thought “sounded catchy”. Mat helped where he could, cutting and bagging up the fudge, despite his declining health, McEwing said. She soon started experimenting with recipes like marshmallow lolly cake slice, donuts and cake cups with custard, which all sold well online.
She started dreaming of setting up a shop – one where children could also play, with a community vege garden and a reading corner. But turning the dream into a reality was not easy. The family had to move house, and McEwing had to re-register the kitchen at their new rental in Richmond. And in August, Mat passed away.
McEwing pushed on with the shop plans, wanting to honour his memory, and because it gave her “purpose”, she said.
But sites that she and her eldest daughter Gracie found to rent in Nelson and Wakefield both fell through. They spotted the “for rent” sign at the gate of the cottage – which was being used as a bedroom – in Richmond late last year.
Things seemed to fall into place, with “lovely” landlords, and the discovery there was a coffee cart about 50m away (from Trydunn Coffee Ltd, run by Toni Dunn).
Last month, the costs of converting the building left McEwing to conclude she wouldn’t be able to go ahead – before a donor came forward, allowing the shop to open on February 5.
So far, things were going well, McEwing said. People had donated books for the reading corner. Thirty batches of Afghan caramel slice she made during the shop’s second week in operation sold out the next day, with “Mat’s Fudge” (Russian fudge, his favourite) also selling fast, she said.
In the meantime, McEwing is also posting online orders around the country. Orders sometimes took longer than planned, but customers had been very understanding, she said.
Customers could expect anything but “run of the mill” offerings, she said.
“I get very bored making the same things. If I think of an idea, I just put it together and see if it works.”
Mat would be proud, McEwing said. A donation box sits in a corner of the shop for the hospice where he died, which had been “nothing short of amazing”, she said.
“He would have loved to be down here.” Current payment methods at the shop are cash or bank transfer, with plans to install an eftpos machine soon. People can also order online via the Facebook page of the business.