No time like the present, says entrepreneur
Newly launched Fudge Sakes offers retro candy and other items from retail store
FOR FUDGE SAKES, A NEW candy store just opened in St. Jacobs.
Launched just a month ago amid the most recent COVID-19 shutdown by Tim Henneberry, owner of Fog Off Clothing Co., the new store got its start with the goal of becoming your go-to destination for sweet treats.
Knowing the space in which the candy store now sits was going on the market, Henneberry says he wanted to open something new, but he did not quite know what was going there when he first made the decision to take on the new retail space.
“It (the new space) was becoming available, so it didn’t even really go up for rent because it’s the same landlord. So, I was like ‘I want it,’ [and the landlord said]‘what are you going to put in there?’ and at the time, I didn’t know, I just knew I wanted it because it’s close to my other store. I was going to open my other clothing brand in here called Off the Hook Apparel, and then I just thought, ‘what’s this town missing?’ and I [thought] ‘a candy store.’ Every little town has a candy store/ice cream shop,” said Henneberry. “I just saw the village itself [and] what it was missing, and what the demographic is – and everybody likes candy. Everybody likes ice cream, everybody likes Pop Shoppe, everybody likes the retro stuff. I try to bring in the old candies, the old lollipops, and just stuff that you can’t get at the convenience store.”
In addition to the specialty candies, fudges and other items that you may not be able to find elsewhere, Fudge Sakes also offers customers popcorn, cotton candy, 50 different kinds of saltwater taffy and even soft-serve ice cream.
“We do the soft serve and then we do hurricanes… [like blizzards], but we do higher-end gourmet ones. Chocolate-covered potato chips, chocolate-covered gummy bears, Reese’s Pieces, Oreo, Nerds, chocolate rocks, Bounty bar, and then you can actually get your fudge and have that put in a soft serve ice cream, too.”
An entrepreneur all his life, first with a restaurant and then clothing brands such as Fog Off, Henneberry never really thought of opening a candy store. While he knows everyone loves candy, this was not a childhood dream of his come true, but a way to make people happy while giving the community new options that were absent from the village.
Opening during the pandemic might have been scary and worrying to some, but Henneberry says he never let it faze him, opting to take the optimistic route. It has paid off well since the first day.
“With any business venture I ever do, I never actually stop and worry about it; I don’t take the time to. If you worry, then it could cause worry for me. So, I just always put my heart and passion into everything that I do and believe it’s going to work, and nine and a half times out of 10 it has in my past,” he added. “We’ve been open a month, and the local support has been incredible, and that’s basically 99 per cent of the business right now.”
With his other brand
Fog Off, there was a large mental health aspect with that business, with a percentage of proceeds going to organizations each month supporting those with mental health afflictions.
He says he pondered bringing this over to Fudge Sakes, but instead he is looking into something where he would be able to support children and families.
Down the road, Henneberry already has plans to open another Fudge Sakes and Fog Off store in another town, hoping to expand and share the joy that comes with his brands.
He also plans on building a patio deck over the next few weeks so customers can enjoy their treats in the sunshine as they get out for a socially distanced and safe outing.
Fudge Sakes is located downtown on King Street in St Jacobs, and is open for in-store shopping.