Sweet tooth cravings can be satisfied when a new candy store opens up on Mill Avenue this month.
The family-owned sweet shop Candy Addict is set to open mid-December next to the Hippie Cove on 4th Street and Mill Avenue.
The store will offer costumers a variety of treats ranging from gourmet truffles to mouthwatering lollipops.
“Mill has its fair share of bars, nightclubs and restaurants and clothing stores, but there’s certainly room for what I like to call family friendly locations down there,” said Frank Ellis, owner of Candy Addict.
Frank and his wife Pam moved from northern California to Tempe in May after Pam got a new job.
Frank Ellis, 53, worked 30 years as an engineer in the Silicon Valley and wanted a change.
“Like any business, location is golden, and with the right location you can do well,” Frank Ellis said.
The Ellises lived near downtown Tempe and noticed many vacancies on Mill Avenue.
They chose the location first and then decided what kind of store to open up.
“We had several different concepts,” Frank Ellis said.
They had ideas for a cupcake store, a general bakery or a candy store.
“When we would travel to Europe or Asia … when we would see a bouquet type candy store or chocolatier, that would always be one of the places that we would make a beeline for,” Frank Ellis said.
The Mill location is too small for the owners to bake their own candies, but they will be carrying local candy vendors and a New Mexico company called Cocopotamus.
“I’m going to gain 20 pounds working here,” Frank Ellis said.
They’ll be carrying gourmet chocolates as well as candy from the 1900s to the 1950s.
With opening day around the corner, they have been randomly drawing fans of Facebook and Twitter and giving winners a free pound of candy.
Forty-year-old Pam Ellis is hoping that giving away candy will drive traffic to the website and increase anticipation of the store’s opening.
“For those that are local, we’re giving them a choice to actually get a certificate to bring into the store and choose their own once we’re open,” Pam Ellis said.
During Halloween weekend, they put tables in front of the store and passed out candy and discount cards.
“We ended up approximately passing out … 20,000 pieces of candy and about 3,000 discount cards,” Frank Ellis said.
Chemistry and music senior Harrison Walter was driving on Mill Avenue one day when he saw Candy Addict.
“I saw that they had some signs up, went to their website and added them on Facebook,” Walter said.
Once the store opens, Walter says he’ll go there to buy Wonka candies like Nerds and Gobstoppers, as well as his favorite, Sixlets — round candy-coated chocolates.
“We’ve actually got a lot of requests through the website [for candy],” Frank Ellis said.
Reach the reporter at mpareval@asu.edu
