The Sweetest Things candy shop, is scheduled to open Tuesday at 21 S. Main St. in Allentown.
By: Marisa Maldonado
ALLENTOWN The sweet tooth can be genetic just ask Jim Bruno and Heather Saracen.
The father-daughter team will open their candy store, The Sweetest Things, at 21 S. Main St. on Tuesday. The duo has been planning the store since October, but Ms. Saracen said she has been dreaming of opening her own candy store for years.
She approached her father, a general contractor, with the idea when a 1,800-square-foot space opened up next to her husband’s business, Allentown Chiropractic. Her husband had been approached about buying the space to expand his business.
"I said, ‘Oh no you don’t!’" said Ms. Saracen, 30, who does bookkeeping and billing for her husband’s business. "’I’m taking it.’"
Ms. Saracen and Mr. Bruno have brought about 1,000 pounds of candy into the store so far and much of that has gone into making the candy bouquets that they hope will set their store apart from other candy shops.
"We’re kind of just shooting for weird, different candy gifts," said Mr. Bruno, 50, who lives in Langhorne, Pa.
The bouquets range from roses made of Hershey kisses to a heart made entirely of peppermint candies. They can serve as centerpieces for baby or bridal showers, and Ms. Saracen’s manicurist has even ordered three bouquets for the tables in her salon.
"Everything we do is custom-made," said Ms. Saracen, who lives on Arney-Chesterfield Road. "You can come in and say, ‘I want a bouquet of all Snickers bars,’ and we can do that."
Making the bouquets is time-consuming, Ms. Saracen said. Each cellophane leaf in the bouquet is handmade, and she estimates that each bouquet contains between 50 and 60.
The store is trying to avoid featuring too many chocolate items in an effort to reduce competition between them and Chocolate N Dreams, located at 4 Church St. But they do have some items, such as M&M-covered chocolate-covered pretzels.
The store also sells gift items, including cards, candles that look like ice cream containers and small, stuffed figures. While they are "definitely not a card store," as Mr. Bruno said, the duo hopes that the store will be one-stop shopping for its customers who come in looking to buy candy as a present.
"You can come in and get any kind of gift," Ms. Saracen said.
They already are making themselves known around Allentown’s business community. They got their display cases from a business that was getting rid of them, and neighbors have often stopped by to check in on the progress of the store.
Ms. Saracen had considered purchasing store space on Church Street several years ago, but found the area’s lack of parking not ideal for a new store.
"I always say, ‘Good things come to those who wait,’" she said.
The store’s opening next week coincides with Valentine’s Day, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony Feb. 5 will feature punch, free cotton candy and a discount on candy bouquets.
Members of Mr. Bruno and Ms. Saracen’s family, who have been giving their input on many things from the store’s name to the music that will be played, will be on hand for the grand opening. One of Ms. Saracen’s cousins is making a CD of songs about candy, from "A Spoonful of Sugar" from the musical "Mary Poppins" to "Lollipop" by the Chordettes.
The family all voted on the name of the store. Ms. Saracen originally wanted to go with "Sweet Tooth" but thought against it.
"I thought it was the cutest name, but it makes people think of cavities," she said.
Even though he now has several caps on his teeth and can’t eat junk food like he used to, Mr. Bruno said he’d take the sweet stuff over anything else.
"If I had a choice between a good dinner or junk food," he said, "I’d choose junk food."

