Downtown Chillicothe is saying goodbye to a longtime vendor of confectioneries, while welcoming a new one. Lloyd's Sweet Shoppe has closed its doors after nearly 50 years of providing sweets to the community, however, a new candy shop has stepped up to take over the business under a different name.
Christopher Beers is the owner of Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop.
"Lloyd's was in business for 45 years here in Chillicothe, and we are hugely respectful of what they created here," said Beers. "We're going to keep honoring that tradition and enhance it. We want to provide that candy store experience for families, friends and the entire community for years to come."
When it comes to enhancing the selection offered by Lloyd's, Beers says they'll be adding imported chocolates.
"Lloyd's had a great selection of locally made chocolates and traditional candies, and we're going to continue to have those," said Beers. "But Grandpa Joe's is going to bring in imported chocolates such as the 'Kinder Joy Eggs', which are just starting to hit the shelves in America, and the 'Curly Wurly Bar' that was once known as the 'Marathon' candy bar that everybody looks for; we have it!"
Grandpa Joe's will also be adding a wide variety of glass bottled sodas, said Beers.
"We'll also be adding over 200 varieties of glass-bottled old-fashioned pure-cane sugar soda; the good stuff, not the high fructose syrup stuff in a can that you can get anywhere else," said Beers. "We're talking about 'Moxie', which was really popular in the New England area. We're talking about 'Jone's Bubble Gum Soda', we're talking about 'Boylan's' and 'Hank's' and so many types of root beers and cream sodas; really good classic glass bottle sodas."
Grandpa Joe's will also offer a candy buffet featuring over one hundred different bulk candy selections.
"The way our Candy Buffet works is you'll grab a box and we're going to ask you to cram it with as much candy that it will hold," said Beers. "No matter how much you put in it, it's only going to cost you $5.00."
Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop will open to the public this Thursday, November 16th at 4:00 p.m. It's located at the former Lloyd's Sweet Shoppe at 22 W. Water St.