A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words

As we start 2012 I thought I would start the year with a picture that I took just before closing last Friday.

Publish Post

Living the life of the candy man is sure sweet.

Happy New Year and here is to a happy, healthy and sweet new year!

Do you sell Penuche?

The other day a sweet older woman came into the store and asked me Do you sell Penuche?

I looked at her and answered what is it?

She went onto to tell me that her husband who was 85 had cancer and was not allowed to eat chocolate anymore and all he wanted for Christmas was some Penuche which is a form of butterscotch fudge.

OK I am a softy -- we have never made it and we rarely make fudge at all but this sweet older woman who was trying to make her sick husband happy got to me.

So after doing some research and making a few phone calls we made a small batch of Penuche for her to give to her husband as a Christmas gift. Unfortunately the batch did not have the exact consistency but it tasted great and with a holiday appropriate bow it looked nice too

All part of living the life of the candy man.

Have a sweet day!

What a creative Chanukah Idea

Living the life of the candyman is sweet.

I get to help people with all kinds of unique projects from ginger bread house themed birthday parties and weddings to teachers who need themed candy for a lesson.  Two days ago we sold a teacher candy blox for a class project.

But the coolest thing I have seen in recent months is a project that a student did this week.

On Sunday a Mom and daughter came in with an idea for a school project to build a Candy Chanukah Menorah or Hanukkah Candelabra.

The young lady had the greatest idea to make it out of Pez (sorry I don't sell it online), so I asked the Mom if it was OK to feature it on my blog the Mom said yes and sent me the following pictures to post.

Great job Dafna

Happy and Sweet early Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa.

PS -- if you create a cool project using candy / confections from the store I'd be happy to post it too.

Have a sweet day!

NBC Channel 5 Sunday 6 AM News

Yes it was dark and rainy this past Sunday morning, but the Candyman was able to sweeten up a local  TV news segment. How and Why you may be asking yourself.

Well for the last couple of years we have been participating the World of Chocolate Event that benefits AIDS research.  The first year we we brought with a lot of chocolate that people enjoyed but I realized that many other vendors had themes so last year we had a them Chanukah and Christmas and then at the last minute the Governor announced the legalization of same sex marriages so we brought with our LGBT molds.


As the date was nearing for the World of Chocolate event their PR firm sent out an inquiry looking for unique ways to get media coverage. I offered a chocolate NBC peacock. The PR firm did their magic and next thing you know I was on TV along with my trusty helper my son.

Click to watch video

The culmination of the week was the World of Chocolate Event. where we brought out the Emerald City along a few characters from Oz.

What will we do next year?

Not sure yet but I have a few idea.

Have a sweet day!

Time to be Thankful

Being the Candy Man is sweet, but at times you need to take a step back and be thankful too.

This past year we have had some great things happen to the business from . From the additions of some exciting products to an opportunity to be on a cable reality show but now is the time to take a step back and be thankful and count our blessings.

So once again we have teamed up with LifeSource and are sponsoring our Fourth Annual blood drive on Sunday December 11th, between 10:30am & 4:30pm, in the LifeSource Coach, which will be in our parking lot at 3745 W Dempster in Skokie.  Sweet treats and coupons will be available on the coach for all who are being so generous.

You can give the gift of life by donating less than an hour of your time and some blood. In return you get the following...

-1- You feel good that you helped someone (usually within 5 days)

-2- Various health benefits

    a)Free Mini Physical (blood pressure, iron and pulse tested)

    b)Free Cholesterol reading

-3- Illinois Nut & Candy cookies and confections in the LifeSource Coach

-4- 10% off all purchases through the end of the year

-5- A FREE bag of popcorn to take with you on the road

Donations are down once again this year.  I promised that I could get 50 people to give blood. I already have 2, and am asking you as part of my network of contacts to help me keep my word.

If all that doesn't convince you, maybe this will.  This year we were given a football signed by Chicago Bears safety Major Wright. One lucky person who successfully donates blood will have their name drawn for a chance to win the signed football.  Your chances for winning are 1 in 50 or better!

Please RSVP by calling 847-677-5777 with a time that is convenient for you between 10:30am & 4:30pm

Also for those who are not able to attend  you can always go to a local LifeSource location and give them the code 146B that is the same as if you were on the bus. If you need to find a location near you click this link to find a location near you. 

Have a sweet day and Happy Thanksgiving. 

Happy and Sweet Holidays to you and yours!

Halloween Treats with no Tricks

Everyone knows that I always have candy in my van so when people ask for a sample I am ready to go. For the newer readers here is what I drive

About a year and a half ago Fox Business dubbed me the Kosher Willy Wonka (click to see video).  As a result, I decided for Halloween to go out and purchase a Willy Wonka costume.

Now you are probably wondering where is he going with this entry...

After Halloween last year, my wife had a great idea that I should drive around in the candy van dressed as Willy Wonka and do a "reverse trick or treat."

I thought it was a great idea so a few weeks ago I called our local Police Department and spoke with Officer Friendly who recommend that I contact the Skokie Park District since.  Naturally they did not want kids getting in the habit of taking candy from strangers.

That brings me to what I am doing today -- in conjunction with the Park District early education program I am visiting 4 of their schools, and with a little help from Gimbal's who provided me with Nut Free / Gluten Free / Egg Free / Lactose and Casein Free  (but not taste free) samples, I am stopping at these schools and delivering allergy free treats.

It was a lot of fun. .

So, whether or not you celebrate Halloween, it is quite a treat to see the smiles on the kids faces, (except for the one who was afraid of Willy Wonka and cried, I am sorry to report.)

And yes, several people did the stop the van as I drove around today and said "Trick or Treat."

Have a sweet day!

It's the Jewish Holiday Season

I have written it before in this blog that Illinois Nut & Candy is an extremely seasonal business.  Fortunately, we have been busy the last few weeks during the Jewish Holiday's of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur and where we are now were in the middle of Sukkoth (Sukkot).

Sukkot hearkens back to times in ancient Israel when Jews would build huts near the edges of their fields during the harvest season. These dwellings called a "sukkah" (or "sukkot" plural) not only provided shade, but allowed the workers to maximize the amount of time they spent in the fields, harvesting their food more quickly as a result.  Click to learn more about the origins of Sukkot.

So rather than bore you I thought I would show you some of the interesting items that we offer during this season.

Clockwise from Top Left: Chocolate Apple filled w. Honey Candy, Chocolate Bee Hive, Chocolate Rams Head,
Mini Chocolate Sukkah, Chocolate Sukkah, Mini Chocolate Shofars.

Have a Sweet Day, and a Happy New Year!