Happy 10 Years!

 

Yes it has been ten sweet and sometimes nutty years of ownership here at Illinois Nut & Candy.

To celebrate this sweet occasion we had a Anniversary Party yesterday where 100's of people came to the store to enjoy FREE popcorn, lollies as well as a jump house for the kids.

Everyone had a fun time and it was our way of saying thank you to the community for it's support.

The celebration will continue this Wednesday with a blood drive at the our store  (in the parking lot on a bus) from 3:00 - 7:00. We normally host our Annual Blood Drive in December but thought that our 10 year anniversary deserved a second drive.

To all of you who shop at our store or online  I say thank you for your continued support, to those who have not tried out our store please do so.

Lastly to those who want a FREE box of chocolate --- if you make a warm referral for a corporate account that sends out gifts I will thank you with a box of chocolate.

Have a sweet day!

David

Beer & Kosher Bacon Anyone?

Happy Independence Day! 

So I thought being Independence day I would do a fun post. At the last candy show there were many new items that we will be bringing into the store over the next several months.

But being today is traditionally a day for a  BBQ I thought I would post two of the new items that go quite well together and are at many BBQ.  Beer & Bacon.

Kosher bacon you may say well kosher bacon flavored candy sticks.


So for those who want the great taste of beer and don't want to worry about the drive home you can enjoy this  great new product and for those who want to try the taste of bacon well I have no idea how authentic the taste is but it is worth a try.

Have a sweet day!

It's All in the Card

Every gift that leaves our store comes with a card. My staff know that this is very important. Over the years I have seen so many cards . Some funny, some sad, some so personal that I could hardly believe the person was dictating it and other so long I wish I could charge by the word.

That being said last week we were asked to send out a Shiva Tray. For those who do not know Shiva is the time of mourning a family follows in the Jewish faith. The card was supposed to read:


Dear (redacted) Family,

Mazel Tov

We are so sorry for your loss.

Our Deepest Sympathies
  (redacted)

Here was the problem the phrase Mazel Tov means Good Luck, not a traditional thing to say to someone after grieving the death of a loved one.

My customer service representative asked the person to clarify if the card was right and the customer confirmed the card was to read Mazel Tov.

My staff person asked me what she should do before attaching the card.

In the past we have fixed grammar or spelling when appropriate but what should we do about wishing a Mazel Tov to a grieving family.

I made the call to remove the words Mazel Tov and we attached the card and had it delivered.

Just another day in the life of the candy man.

Have a sweet day!

David

Mothers Day Gifts

So Holiday's are always a time for gifting especially when it comes to Mother's Day.

I always find it interesting to see what people buy for their Mom's.  Many people have bought their Mom's Truffles. From 4 piece boxes to 25 piece boxes.

We have people who have purchased their Mom's boxes of Sugar Free chocolate.

Then we have had customers who have ordered options from our spell it in chocolate boxes including the most popular selection

But the best gift that I have seen so far was our customer who wanted to get her 90+ year old Mom her favorite treat a bag of Scottie Dogs.

Of course we bowed the bag. How sweet a Mom who was a grandma herself taking the time out her day to get her Mom her favorite treat.

The life of the candy man is sweet !

Happy Mother's Day!

Have a sweet day!

A Nutty Thursday

Hello followers here is a funny and true story that I had to share.

The other day a female customer came into the store to purchase candy and nuts for a shower. She told me that since the shower was not Kosher the only thing that she could eat was the Candy & Nuts from my store. (Yes everything in our store is Kosher)

As I was helping her decide what to purchase she commented, "... you have the best nuts".

I tried not to be a teenager and snicker and said "thank you that we try to purchase only the freshest nuts from local roasters."

The conversation continued and the customer who I might say is a prim and proper lady went onto to say "that being nothing at the shower was going to be kosher she would have to eat my nuts for 2 hours"

Once again I  tried not to be a teenager and snicker but I must admit I had to turn towards the bin so she could not see me smile as I scooped the nuts.

Just another day in the life of the candy man.

Have a sweet day!

A Sweet Happy Birthday

Earlier today I answered the phone and a gentleman asked if it was too late  to get a package delivered today. I said what was the occasion and where was it going since the messenger had already left for the day.

He responded with the address and that it was his wife's birthday and he wanted to surprise her with something special like a chocolate heart.  I told him that he was in luck and we had one ready to go since Valentine's Day was just the other day.

Since we were slow I said I would be happy to personally make the delivery.

I was typing out the card when the phone rang again.

It was the same gentleman who told me that his wife was shopping at Target and since it was on the way to his home could I surprise her with the gift.


Fast forward fifteen minutes and I am in Target trying to explain to the customer service representative what I wanted to do. He had to get his supervisor and she gave the OK to page the customer.

Well after  trying to page the customer twice (the story would have been better had she heard the page) I called her on her cell phone. I explained what that I had a delivery for her and her husband asked me to deliver it to her at the Target.

I gave her the chocolate heart and made her birthday a little sweeter.

The life of the candy man is sure sweet.

Have a sweet day!

First Post of 2014

So to my loyal followers I must start 2014 by apologizing for not blogging more at the end of 2013.

We thankfully got busy and my blogging suffered. 

So rather than typing about it I thought I would do a montage of our December and January Projects.
 
 
Yes, there is a good story behind each of these images.

So you until the next entry

Have a sweet day!

David