Troyer’s Sweet Shoppe finds new Millersburg home

Sometimes the sweet road to success takes many twists and turns and takes people on treks they never expected.

After a new owner purchased the building that has been home to Troyer’s Sweet Shoppe in Historic Downtown Millersburg with the purpose of bringing in a new store, Troyer’s Sweet Shoppe owner Verna Troyer realized she was going to have to find a new home for her store sooner rather than later.

Thus came the chore of searching for a new home, somewhere she could peddle her multitude of chocolates and sweets. It didn’t take long for her to find a dream spot, that being on the corner of East Jackson and North Clay, right in the heart of the downtown district.

“I am so excited about the possibilities,” Troyer said. “The location is wonderful, and with the windows on both sides, people can see right in.”

Troyer said her current plan is to have the front of the store be the display area where she will showcase her array of candies. She will make candy in the back of the store, and her idea is to create an open counter concept where people can watch the candy being made. She said people tend to separate the storefront area from the production area. Her goal is to combine both so people can see the product from start to finish.

“I want people to be able to see how the candy is made,” Troyer said. “Hopefully people can even see this from outside of the store as they pass by. Once I get in and get rolling, I should be making candy every day.”

Candy-making has been in the Troyer family for 60 years, beginning with Troyer’s grandmother. Her aunts picked up the mantle, and she took over the operation this year.

“I’ve been exposed to making chocolate and candy my whole life,” Troyer said. “We’ve got some neat family recipes, and my hope is that I can share my passion with candies with everyone who stops by.”

According to Troyer, she will stay put at her current location on West Jackson Street until the end of the year. At that point she will take a month to prepare the move into her new digs on the square.

“It’ll be nice to get a little breather, kind of the calm before the storm I guess,” Troyer said. “My plan is to be open by February for the push toward Valentine’s Day, and I will be featuring chocolate-covered strawberries.”

With a visible storefront, Troyer said she is excited about the possibilities of her new store location, noting she eventually wants to add a coffee shop in the store. She said they ship candies all over the nation, and from truffles, chocolates and fudge to other confectionery sweets, there is plenty of sugary fun to share with people.

Troyer said while tourist traffic is wonderful, one thing she wants to be known for is serving the local community. That means keeping the store filled with sweets like chocolate-mint truffles, orange-cream fudge, crunchy butter puffs, buckeyes, sea-salt caramels and more.

For those seeking to purchase candy for the holiday season, which Troyer prepares in gift boxes, Troyer will continue to make new product right through Christmas. After that, a new era will begin for a candy store that has been six decades in the making.