Candy Cane Demonstrations
Our store is a small, family owned and operated business. We are known for our handmade candy canes; in 2022 we produced around 43,000 canes. Contrary to popular belief, we are not a factory. The handmade candy cane process takes two people a total of about 2 1/2 hours to produce 200 candy canes. We welcome everyone to visit our store to watch a candy cane demonstration during our demonstration times, which are posted on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
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What to expect during a candy cane demonstration:
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For our candy cane demonstrations the staff making the canes will walk you through the process and go through the history of our 104 year old store. When most customers arrive for the the demonstration, the cane ingredients (sugar, water, and corn syrup) will have been cooking for about an hour. When we give start times for our demonstrations they are estimates, because the cook time can vary for many different reasons, from the weather to the last time a batch was made. Once the candy canes in liquid form reach a certain temperature (around 300 degrees), it is ready to be poured. The next 30 minutes is the most interesting time to watch, as the candy cane goes from liquid to solid as they cool. During this time, the flavoring gets added, as well as the coloring. Then it is time to start forming the candy canes; over the next hour, the candy canes will be pulled and shaped. Finally, a third person jumps in to help as they start to bag and tag the canes, after they have cooled. We do offer a small sample for everyone to taste, if you’d like.
We would like to remind everyone that our store is not a factory. All of the candy we produce is made in the kitchen that is visible through the windows in our store front. We do our best to provide as much candy to our customers as we can. Most of the staff that works behind the counters are high schoolers. For a lot of them, this is their first job, so we ask that you be patient, kind, and respectful; we ask the same of them.
We do make candy canes year round, however outside of November and December we are not making them every day. We post all public candy cane demonstrations on our Facebook and Instagram pages, listing the date and the approximate time. If you are not on Facebook or Instagram, please feel free to call the store for demonstration dates & times.