At North Central’s Candy and Chocolate Company, visitors will find three generations of candy makers at work, including Eric Harrell and the youngest member of the crew, who is just 2 years old (photo by Trudy Thompson Shumaker).
The boxy turquoise building on the northwest corner of Dunlap and 7th Avenue doesn’t promise much from the outside. But pull in and park on the north side of the building at 702 W. Dunlap, and you’re on your way to some serious magic.
The building is home to the Candy and Chocolate Company, where three generations of candy makers work.
“They are ages two to 72,” said Eric Harrell, himself a fifth-generation candy maker.
On any given day, the crew is cooking up taffy or caramel apples or chocolates or toffee or dozens of other candies. They greet visitors with a hearty “hello” and probably a treat or two or three, pointing out the antique candy making machines from all over the world, the walls of fresh candy familiar to anyone over 50, and the very cool Kinetoscopes that require a penny before they start an even cooler movie. You don’t have a penny? No worries. Carolyn Wilson will pull one from the cash register and lend it to you.
Harrell and his family ran a candy factory in Sedona before they moved to Phoenix. They found the building in North Central Phoenix and started working on it to make it home to their collection of candy-making equipment, signs and chocolate molds.
“We probably have the largest collection of antique candy-making equipment in the world,” he said. “And we use it every day!”
Although it has the makings of a museum, the shop doesn’t have the feel of a museum, because the “exhibits” are hard at work, churning out fresh confections for all ages.
Belly Isela and her dad, Gabe, stopped by one morning to explore. As they walked through the doors, Belly looked up at her dad and said, “I hope they have taffy. It’s my favorite.”
Belly was in luck. She had just walked into the mothership for taffy. Her eyes lit up when she saw it, and she quickly filled a bag a helpful candy maker provided.
Another visitor walked in and inquired about chocolate-dipped strawberries. Soon he left with a box of beautifully dipped berries, and he said, “I’ll be back.”
That crunchy sponge candy? They make it. Hard candies without dye? They make them too. What’s with all the boxes of fresh apples? They’re from a friend’s orchard in Washington State.
“We make caramel apples – a lot of them – every day and ship them all over the US, supplying grocery store chains and specialty shops,” Harrell said.
Friends gather for candy-making classes, leaving with more than a pound of candy they made.
“The classes are a lot of fun, because they bring people together, they learn something new and the results are delicious,” he added. “Anybody interested in a class can just call us and we’ll put something together for them.”
Remember that weird gum grandma always had in her purse? It tasted like purse dirt and cloves. And grandkids usually had to split a piece with their siblings.
“Yes, we have that – Clove Gum. Beeman’s Gum. Black Jack Gum. People see we have it and they all have a story about it.”
The candy cigarettes that your bad third-grade self-shared with your baby sister just to horrify your mom? Yep. Harrell has ‘em. Buying a pack felt like the right thing to do for one recent shopper.
“My mom will be aghast until she figures out they are only candy,” said Sherry Gage. “WAIT! They have the little wax bottles filled with colored sweet water? I need some of those too.”
The shop also sells ice cream at a marble bar outfitted with swivel stools that once graced an ice cream parlor. The stools face the windows to the candy making room, so eating ice cream while watching the candy-makers work their magic is a thing.
Harrell and his family are community-oriented, and quickly stepped up when a customer asked them to do something special for breast cancer awareness.
“We’re making a special pink lemonade drop, as well as a sea salt caramel for October, and we’ll donate proceeds from those candies to a breast cancer education here in Phoenix,” he said. “We can continue to offer the hard candy through the end of the year to support the cause.”
A Sunnyslope High School senior waiting to cross Dunlap asked a customer leaving with a fresh caramel apple: “Is it good?” The customer used a thumbs-up to answer his question. She was smiling but couldn’t speak because her mouth was full. The student ditched the idea of crossing the street and headed in to try one for himself.
Learn about Candy and Chocolate Company at www.candyandchocolateco.com or call 602-758-5240 for more information.
