Wedding + Chocolate = Happily Ever After

Our Chicago Skyline chocolate bars and 2 piece
chocolate barks recently aided in the success of a
client's wedding weekend. 

At Illinois Nut & Candy we help people with life cycle events, usually happy ones like: weddings, bar \ bat mitzvahs, birth dates and personal successes stories.  Of course, we are also there when the sad ones happen including Shiva /Bereavement.

Thankfully at Illinois Nut & Candy, the happy moments far out number the sad ones. One of the happier moments that we recently had was for a couple getting married in late July. They were looking for help with hospitality bags for their hotel guests.  The couple had a moderate budget, and they wanted to assemble bags on their own.

Many ideas went back and forth through e-mail for months out, but as the weeks passed and the date neared a few phone were made and finally a decision.  The reception was for 40, and their hotel block consisted of 5 rooms. The reason I say this is that we put the same care in the big parties as we do the smaller ones.

In the end, the couple went with a 2 piece chocolate bark combination of Smooth Peanut Butter Bark and Chocolate M&M Bark for each table setting, and Chicago Skyline chocolate bars for their out of town guests staying at the hotel. And a special thank you to Jennifer for letting put her email in my blog ...

Dear David, Thank you again for accommodating our last minute order. The skyline bars and chocolate barks were a big hit. We think we got about as many compliments on the chocolate as we did our ceremony and reception. Our friend Carleen said she devoured the skyline bar after checking in, thinking she would just take a bite before heading to the ceremony. Another friend, Michael said he couldn't remember a chocolate bar that was as creamy and smooth as the skyline bar, and regretted that he couldn't finish the bar, because his +1 yanked it out of his hand. The restaurant placed the barks Peanut Butter side up at our reception and they looked great against the Fern Bichon linens and Chocolate L'Amour runners. What doesn't go good with Chocolate? Thanks 1000x to you and your staff.

Please give us a call if your next event could use a custom chocolate touch, or if you're seeking Chicago themed treats for your out of town guests.

And if you are looking to have a large event see video our Wizard of Oz themed sweets table featured on TLC's Four Weddings.

Another sweet moment in the Life of the Candy Man!

Have a sweet day!

Time for a Nutty Contest

When people ask me how my day is I either say its sweet or nutty.

The same way when people ask me what my title is I often say that I am the head nut.

Well after you read this you may think that I have gone nuts.

This blog entry starts the Search for the Ultimate Illinois Nut Fan.

Here is how you can enter....

1. Come into the store and put on our nut costume and tell a rated PG or less nut joke that we can post on our youtube channel.
2. Come into the store and put on our nut costume do your best nut dance wearing the costume to the tune of our wowwy zowwy gum ball machine that we can post on our youtube channel.
3. Tell your story of why you are nuts about Illinois Nut & Candy that we can post on our youtube channel wearing the costume is a plus.
4.  Take a picture in out nut costume holding up a sign that that says I Love Illinois Nut  & Candy that we can post on our Facebook wall.
5. Tell what you are most nuts about at Illinois Nut & Candy and why.

Never fear for those out of town here is how you can enter:

1. email a video of you telling why you love Illinois Nut & Candy (costume not required though any costume will do).
2. email a picture of you holding up a sign that that says I Love Illinois Nut & Candy that we can post on our Facebook wall. 

Everyone who enters is a winner. Here is what you will win.

All Participants will receive a bag of popcorn.
Video entries will receive 15% off of your purchase that day.
Photo entries will receive 10% off of your purchase that day.
Email entries will be given a promo code equal to in store entries as well as receive a bag of popcorn with online purchase.

The contest has no end date at this time but the monthly winner of the most views on youtube or likes on Facebook will receive a confection of his/her choice starting August 31,2012.

All contest entries must be 18 years of age or older unless given parental consent. Each participant must sign a waiver giving Illinois Nut & Candy rights to the pictures and videos and allow Illinois Nut & Candy to post the videos/ pictures on line. Lastly discounts given are not valid with other offers or applicable to customization charges.

Thank you for being nuts about Illinois Nut & Candy.

Have a sweet day!

  

Chicago Themed Chocolate Souvenir

Have you ever needed a Chicgao themed gift?

Well, over the years we have gotten the request from corporations and party planners that they need a Chicago themed gift so we have added them to our repertoire of unique gifts.

We stared with the Chicago Skyline puzzle which has been used by many

but then reuquests came for smaller options which is when we stared to offer

 two different sized chocoalte bars both that featured a chocolate Chicago skyline.

Which gets me to the latest Chicago themed gift, like many of our unique molded chocolates the idea came from sitting with clients and trying to meet their needs with a semi branded gift.

Recently I met with a prospective customer she loved our International Thank You box of chocolates and wanted to know if we could do something similiar but Chicago themed. So after the staff and I thought about how not to get sued for violating a trade mark we came up with the following

This Chicgao Themed Box of chocolate features the skyline and some of Chicago's best known streets and neighborhoods which include 35th St, Addison, Astor St, Belmont, China Town, Division, Grant Park, Lake Shore Dr, Lincoln Park, Little Italy, Maxwell St, Michigan Ave, Oak St, Rush St, State St, Waveland Ave.

The Life of the candy man is sweet.

Have a sweet day!

Hot of the Fourth of July

It was really hot in Chicagoland on the 4th of July well over 100 degrees  but what is the difference between 100 and 104 not much.

Like we do every year we asked our friends  and their families to march with us in the Skokie 4th of July parade. Thank you to all who braved the heat and helped to pass out over 10,000 pieces of candy to the community.

Though it was hot we all all had fun and maybe found a new customer or two.

Our marches marched to the song the candy man being played on a loud speaker mounted to our van.

Want to march with us next year let me know it is a fun thing to do with your kids.

This week in the sweltering heat the life of the candy man was sweet, but it is just too hot thank G-d for air conditioning,

Radio Print Web & TV

This has been an exciting six months for the store. In the last six months we have been featured on TV, (TLC The Four Weddings, Discovery Channel How It's Made, Fox Business and our local NBC News) additionally the store was featured in the local Pioneer press which was then picked up by the Chicago Sun Times.
  

click here to listen to radio segment

The great press continued with being featured in a segment on the local radio station WIND on the show game changers, and most recently I had an appearance on the web TV show CEOInronet.


click here to watch show


With all this exciting press one thing has not changed at the store, our commitment to indulgence.  That being said we are not resting on our laurels. we are hard at work developing new recipes and expermenting with new flavors like our latest the Key Lime Truffle.



WIth a lot of hard work and help from the man up above, the life of the candy man has sure been sweet.

Have a sweet day!

Your Search for Lactose Free Pareve Chocolate Chips is Over

Did you hear the big news?

Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips will no longer be certified nondairy.

This may not sound like a big deal to the average person but to those who keep Kosher or have dairy allergies this is really big news.

I am here to say do not worry, because at Illinois Nut and Candy online at http://www.raisingthecandybar.com/ we offer several type of Pareve Chocolate Chips.

The first type type of our  Lactose Free Pareve Chip is the:

Lactose Free Pareve Mini Chocolate Chips

Next we offer the:

Lactose Free Pareve Chocolate Chips

Finally we offer
Lactose Free Pareve White Chocolate Chips

 

So as an incentive for you to try our lactose free pareve chocolate chips and baking supplies we invite you to come in the store with your last empty bag of Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips and get 10% any of our baking items including our large variety of sprinkles and sanding sugars.

Have a sweet day!

David

Love is in the Air

Like I have said before the life of the Candy Man is sweet especially when I get to help someone make a love connection.

A Love Connection in May?

We actually had 2 today.

First was earlier today around 7:00am before the store opened I got a call from a person in his car who was looking for Chocolate Strawberries to surprise someone special with. I explained that this was a special order and we did not have strawberries but he could get them later in the day.

He explained he needed them now for an early morning surprise -- so I suggested dipped glaced fruit not strawberries but close.

He was happy and was on his way before 7:30am.

The Love Connection we made today was using our Spell it in Chocolate box. One of my staff took an order for a box with the message I Love You.

So for just an ordinary Friday in May there was love in the Air at Illinois Nut & Candy.

Have a sweet day!