So Sweet Candy Shoppe moves to Clinton

CLINTON — After more than three decades as a floral designer, Margaret Rienzo never planned to open her own business. However, a lifelong love of baking led to her second career as an entrepreneur and owner of So Sweet Candy Shoppe in Oneida County. Rienzo started the business in her home in Utica in 2005, making baked goods and candy that she sold at area farmers’ markets and festivals. In 2016, the business had grown enough that she opened her first brick and mortar So Sweet Candy Shoppe location in about 750 square feet on Varick Street in Utica. “That location was really good for us,” she says of the space, which featured a tin ceiling that tied in perfectly with the old-time candy shop feel that Margaret and her husband, Roy, were seeking. Along with cookies, biscotti, and French macarons, So Sweet Candy Shoppe sells a variety of house-made treats such as chocolate-covered sandwich cookies and truffles made by small chocolatiers. “Penny” candy selections include root-beer barrels, Necco Wafters, and other nostalgic favorites for 15 cents each. After years of Roy Rienzo buying fudge from others, the couple began making their own fudge as well. “He makes so many varieties,” Margaret Rienzo adds, including traditional choices like chocolate and vanilla and fun flavors like rainbow sherbet. The So Sweet Candy Shoppe location on Varick Street ultimately became too small for the growing business, she says, leading to the move into 1,000 square feet of space at 16 College St. in Clinton in the Coldwell Banker building. “We needed more room,” Rienzo says. Now, the shop has room for two chocolate candy cases instead of one, and the business owners were able to redesign the shop’s fudge counter so they can cut slabs of fudge instead of only selling pre-packaged fudge. Slab-style fudge makes it easier to make layered flavors, and they have space now to make up to 33 pounds of fudge at a time. To get the space ready, the Rienzos had to install the kitchen. So Sweet Candy Shoppe isn’t entirely new to the Clinton area, having participated in the Clinton Farmer’s Market for the past 15 years, Rienzo says. “We already had a presence here in Clinton, and people already know us,” she says. Many of those people have stopped in since the shop opened on Sept. 28. “So far, I’m telling you, it’s been wonderful,” Rienzo says. “I have seen quite a few of my regular customers.” There have also been a lot of new customers stopping by to check things out. Rienzo and her husband staff the shop alone and are gearing up for the busy holiday season. “We do very well around the holidays,” she says. “We are big on stocking stuffers.” After Christmas, the shop will be busy making custom chocolate-covered strawberries for Valentine’s Day and chocolate bunnies for Easter. So Sweet Candy Shoppe is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.