Sugar Hi opens in Binbrook
‘How can you not love working at a candy store?’
When customers explore the shelves in Sugar Hi, the new candy store in Binbrook, it’s common to hear exclamations of surprise and delight.
“I’ve had so many people come in here and go, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t know they still made that,’ ” said Maureen Rodrigues, who owns the store with her husband, Boris Rodrigues.
While some of the selections are familiar, there are also imported and specialized options, too.
“We have old school stuff, too,” Boris said.
“Anything unique. We try to keep up with the TikTok (trends),” Maureen added.
From sweet chocolate, savoury chips, sour candy and extremely spicy gummy bears, there’s something for every palate.
Another big draw for the store is their loaded coolers, where they carry things like Prime energy drinks, and many flavours of different brands, like Pop Shoppe, Crush, Mountain Dew and more.
While this is a new venture for the couple, this isn’t their family’s first business — not by a long shot.
In the 1980s, Boris’ father, Domenic Rodrigues, came to town and bought a store, which he operated for a while before adding a gas station — the first in town (it eventually closed).
Boris, his mom and a cousin opened Domenic’s Pizza at the site, which was the first pizzeria in town and operated for 30 years. They had to close it just before the COVID-19 pandemic, because Boris had contracted occupational asthma from the flour.
“I just got too sick,” he said. Maureen noted the rumour mill in town had suggested everything from bad food to bankruptcy as the reason for the closure, but she said it was purely her husband’s health.
“It wasn’t anything else.” In opening Sugar Hi, the family now has bragging rights for the first dedicated candy store in Binbrook, too.
“We’re the first everything,” Boris joked.
Having been in the community for so long, the family has done and continues to do a lot to support area groups and organizations, like local youth sports teams and Binbrook Pride, through their businesses.
The community has supported them as well. After the couple’s son, Fernando Rodrigues, died in 2003, $35,000 was raised to build a park with a memorial for him at the corner of Southbrook Drive and Etherington Crescent in 2007.
Looking forward, the family is eager to continue to support the community, and to bring a bit of fun for their customers.
They’re planning a grand opening celebration for the spring, and are looking at the possibility of holding some special events later on, too.
Maureen noted that if anyone is looking for a particular treat, to let them know and they’ll do their best to get it in; she said when they go to place a stock order, there are “thousands and thousands of items” to choose from.
When customers come into the store, they’re pretty much guaranteed to run into a member of the Rodrigues family, as Boris and Maureen’s daughters, Nadia and Emma, also work there.
“I love working here,” said Nadia, who also used to help out at the pizzeria.
“How can you not love working at a candy store?”