Candy is dandy at Williamston’s new sweet shop

When Williamston City Council member Steve Jenkins learned that a storefront would be opening up in downtown Williamston, he saw an opportunity to bring a longtime idea to fruition: a modern-day penny candy shop.

His son Todd, who frequented similar shops in the 1980s, jumped on board. Also a Williamston resident with four children in the area, Todd wanted to give them “a place where they can come and hang out with their friends and have a good time.”

The Candy Café & Ice Cream Shoppe opened Sunday (May 4). Todd hopes the shop, which offers hand-scooped ice cream, homemade cotton candy and candy by the ounce, will serve as a gathering spot for the town’s youth.

“We came in together, looked at it and thought this would be a great location,” Todd said. “It’s right downtown where families come to hang out and walk the streets, so it’s perfect.”

The choice to offer both ice cream and candy originated in part from Todd’s youth, when he frequented Keller’s Ice Cream and Restaurant and Fabiano’s candy shop in Williamston.

The ice cream comes from Hershey Creamery Co., a brand Todd said some people drive extra distances to find. Unrelated to the chocolate company, Hershey ice cream comes in 16 flavors, served at the Candy Café in cake, sugar and waffle cones.

A wall of candies sold for 50 cents an ounce contains classics like jawbreakers and peach rings. Todd said he spent “a couple hundred hours” doing market research, “dealing with different companies and trying to get some nostalgia candy from different decades” to ensure there’s something for everyone.

Leo V. Kaplan/City Pulse Candy Café co-owner Todd Jenkins greets customers behind the shop’s ice cream cooler, which features 16 flavors from Hershey Creamery Co.

For those more tuned into internet culture, a “pricier section” of pre-bagged candy features products “that a lot of influencers do videos and taste tests with,” including Bubs, a Swedish candy brand that gained popularity through viral TikTok videos. A sort of hybrid between marshmallows and gummies, the candy is imported directly from Sweden.

“We try to bring the old in with the new,” Todd said. “Bubs are a big item for the younger kids. I have a 17-year-old daughter who was buying a pound of it on Amazon.”

Despite a tedious process getting it through customs, Todd said he plans to keep restocking the brand after selling “quite a few bags” at Sunday’s grand opening.

While penny candy doesn’t cost a penny anymore, the Candy Café is “the same idea,” according to Todd.

“It’ll bring families together,” he said.