Candy haven satisfies local sweet tooth

Upon entering Middlebury Sweets in East Middlebury, one immediately notices the colors — from the bright yellow, red and purple walls to the gumball displays on the tables. The shelves are lined with Pez dispensers, M&M paraphernalia and themed monopoly boards, which Blanca Jenne, who owns the store with her husband, Brad Jenne, has been collecting for the last 13 years.

The store first started in 2004 as a scrapbooking store with a small candy section called Scrapbook & Rubber Stamp Paradise. In 2007, it became a candy store named Sweet Surprises Down Candy Lane. The Jennes changed the name to Middlebury Sweets in 2010, and they have since been operating a successful business, spreading sugary goodness to all customers.

“Because of the recession, we’ve become more of a candy store than a scrapbooking store, but we keep the scrapbooking supplies for our regular customers,” said Blanca.

Middlebury Sweets, located at 12 Ossie Rd., just five miles South of campus, is truly a family venture, as is evident from the Jennes’ daughter and her grandmother playing behind the counter. The family chose to open a candy store mostly “because it’s fun,” said Blanca. The store’s playful ambiance exudes this love for fun and candy.

Prior to owning the candy store, Blanca owned a gift basket business and made candy buffets for weddings, and this experience has given her a flair for tasteful and eye-catching displays. Currently, Brad also runs a U-Haul and storage business on the store’s property.

Recent renovations have made Middlebury Sweets the largest candy store in Vermont, and although not quite finished, the store boasts an impressive collection of options, from the Haribo gummies to dispensers of jellybeans to quarter pound chocolate turtles, which Blanca cites as a best seller. Her personal favorite, however, is the almond butter crunch.

Blanca recently began making her own chocolate, starting with chocolate bunnies for Easter. She attended seminars to learn how to make and mold the chocolate, and now has designs ranging from the classic bunny to bunnies riding on motorcycles made of white, milk and dark chocolate.

Starting this summer, the Jennes also plan to start selling Wilcox ice cream.

“The ice cream is a response to requests from people in East Middlebury,” said Blanca. “There aren’t many places to buy hard ice cream nearby.”

If the ice cream business goes well this summer, they will install a serving window in the front.

Middlebury Sweets offers free delivery to the Middlebury campus on orders of $10 or more. The Jeenes also cater fundraisers and other events with candy buffets.

Orders can be placed at the website, http://www.middleburysweets.com. It is open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.