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!

The Emerald City in Chocolate

As the "Candy Man" I receive several odd and challenging requests.  Sometimes these requests area a wake-walk, and other times they can push my staff and I to really get creative.

A few weeks ago I was approached by a bride who asked me to help make her wedding a little bit more unique.  Her request was to create the Emerald City in chocolate.

Yes, that is right, a chocolate rendition of Emerald City.  Her wedding had a theme, which as you may have guessed was the Wizard of Oz. . . . and part of her 'dream' was to have a themed sweets table.

Naturally I was willing to help, as I view all special requests as an opportunity for Illinois Nut & Candy really shine.  But the ante was raised when I found out that her wedding would be filmed as part of a taping for a reality show.  [At this time I am contractually obligated to keep the name of the show a secret, but you may rest assured that details are soon to follow.] Follow us on Facebook.

In the meantime, under the pressure of time constraint my staff and I worked with the bride to make her dream a reality.

I'll let you be the judge to decide if what we modeled is a close enough replica of the Emerald City after a  scene from the movie.  Click photo to enlarge image for viewing.

Did we capture the essence?
We were able to build out the entire Emrald City-themed sweet table in chocolate except for the chocolate lollipop stand and the ceramic figurines.  The table was a 5' wide semi-circle or 'half moon,' and 2.5' deep across at he arc.

The "Life of the Candy Man" sure is sweet.

Have a sweet day!

Anchors Away

Besides for being a local candy store where everyone is a kid at least for a few minutes we work with many corporate accounts as well as party planners to brand their corporate gifts or to help a party planner enhance their events.


We helped two new corporate clients last week.

The first corporate client we worked with was for a grand opening. We are creating custom branded truffles for their event. (sorry can't show these they are at the mold maker right now plus I signed an NDA)

For the second corporate account we are going to be creating Halloween Gifts. Yes Halloween is not for about 6 weeks but it never hurts to plan ahead. The client plans on trick or treating except she plans on bringing the treats. She is going to use a variety of our Halloween themed chocolate confections.





This brings me to the title of the blog Anchors Away.  Some of the more creative work we do is for party planners. We help them create the ultimate party favor or sweet table.  Last week we helped a party planner with a Bat Mitzvah on a Yacht.

So with chocolate anchors and personalized life preservers one young lady had very sweet party favors.


The life of the candy man is sure sweet!

Have a sweet day!

34" Pucker Powder

 

Hello -- 

This weeks blog is a funny story of what happened in the store last week. I promise I could not make this up. 

On Tuesday last week two young boys if I had to guess about 9 or 10 came in the store. One of the boys asked my staff how much a 34" Pucker Powder was. 

For those of you that do not know Pucker Powder is a fun machine that allows a person to create his or her own candy tube filled with colored flavored sugar. The sizes are 6" (what most people buy), 12", 18" and the super large 34" (the one that usually grandparent will buy for their grand kids. )

But I digressed -- my staff answered and the boy said OK and proceeded to make a 34" tube (shown above).

Here is where the story gets funny 

The boy came to the counter to pay and took out of his pocket a $10 Hong Kong bill. When my staff informed him that we only take U.S. currency he demanded to speak to the manager. 

I was called from the back and this little boy proceeded to tell me that my employee refused to take his money.

I smiled at him (already having been told the story) and politely told him that we only accept U.S. currency being I did not know the exchange rate. The boy then pulled out of his wallet a Walmart gift card and asked to pay with it. I again smiled and explained that I was not Walmart.

I let the boy know that if he did not have enough U.S. money (which he only had $1.92) I would save his tube and he could come back later.

He said OK turned around and left the store I wished him a sweet day.

He never came back.

Oh well.

The life of the candy man is sweet unless you get stuck with a 34" tube of Pucker Powder filled with sweet and sour sugar it is both  sweet and sour.

Have a sweet day! 

Blue Bear Pink Bear is that what I see?

Living the life of the Candy man is sweet, I get to help people enhance their life cycle events.

One of the most common requests that we get is for baby boy and girl themed items.

We try to bring lots of blue and pink candies into the store.

Well now we have found the ultimate blue and pink items

Pink and blue  gummi bears each sold individually!

What else is there to say.

Have a sweet day.