The Shop | candy

Holiday Fun for Everyone

COLUMBIA - The Candy Factory has been making candy in downtown Columbia, Mo. for over thirty years. It is a family business that began in 1974. A woman named Georgia started the shop, and the Atkinson family purchased it about thirty years ago.

Sam and Donna Atkinson and their son, Mike, and his wife, Amy, are the current owners of The Candy Factory. Today, The shop is up and running and busier than ever, especially during the holiday season. The family keeps The Candy Factory going, and it continues to make Columbia a little sweeter.

Regardless of age, The Candy Factory seems to be the place to be for candy lovers during the holiday season. Two young Columbia residents took a trip to The Candy Factory to pick out some candy on their day off from school.

Brecken Hummel, 7, and her friend, Maizie McMenamy, 7, were looking for sweet treats to give to their friends and family this Christmas. Hummel said that she would like to give some of her friends chocolate Santas and candy canes for Christmas. McMenamy said that she would have to come back with more money to buy all the candy she really wanted to buy for her friends and family, and also for herself.

As for other customers, many said they look for the timeless classics that bring back childhood memories. One of these classic chocolates is none other than the chocolate covered turtles, which consist of pecans and salted caramels bound by chocolate.

There are also customers like Columbia resident Abby Hartsfield, who come in regularly regardless of the season.

“We enjoy shopping here, it’s nice to shop at a local business. But also the products are wonderful, and the staff is friendly,” Hartsfield said.

Alexis Mayes, a sophomore at MU, said that she fell in love with The Candy Factory as soon as she stepped inside the door. She said that in her hometown of St. Louis, there is nothing quite like The Candy Factory.

Mayes has been visiting The Candy Factory regularly since she discovered it last semester. She said the one thing that astounded her is the plethora of chocolate choices. She said she felt like a kid again. This year was the first time Mayes visited the shop during the holiday season, and she was very amused by the white Christmas decorations in the entryway.

“I wanted to buy not just the candy, but everything on display too,” Mayes said.

Some of The Candy Factory’s best sellers are chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered Oreo cookies and their truffles. To craft these fine chocolate treats, it takes much love, care and skill that has been passed down over the years.

According to Raine Flick, cashier at The Candy Factory, it is definitely a busy time for the employees, but also happens to be one of the most fun times of the year. Flick said she loves working behind the scenes at The Candy Factory. She said she had the opportunity to work in the factory part of the shop last year and had a lot of fun making the chocolates.

Walking into The Candy Factory in early December, people are immediately welcomed by vibrant colors and holiday cheers, not to mention the overwhelming choices of candy waiting inside that one has to choose from. The Candy Factory is a great time during the holidays, not only for the people who buy the candy, but for the ones who make it too.