After 30 years at the helm, Colonial Candy Shoppe Owner Melissa Goodrich has made the decision to retire. The old-fashioned candy store has been a Clintonville mainstay for nearly 50 years.
“It has been a great privilege to work with our customers and other business owners,” Goodrich says. “I have learned more than I could have imagined and made some great friends along the way. It’s time now to try something different.”
Colonial Candy Shoppe first opened at 2923 N. High St. in Olentangy Village in 1966. When Goodrich and her parents purchased the store in 1983, they became the third family of local owners and moved the shop to its current location at 3519 N. High St.
She doesn’t want this to be the end for the store. Goodrich plans to remain open for a few months while looking for a buyer to preserve the historic name.
“I hope the community will stay tuned for the next chapter of Colonial Candy Shoppe,” she says. “One of the most frequent comments I hear from new visitors is ‘Wow. This is a real, actual, old-fashioned candy store! I didn’t know they existed.’ I hope to find the right buyer.”
A mix of Ohio-based and national products fill the shop’s shelves.
“Colonial Candy Shoppe is the only Columbus shop that features Ben Heggy’s chocolates, made in Canton, Ohio,” Goodrich says. “There are many devoted Heggy’s customers who come here from all over Central Ohio and beyond for these chocolates.” They also stock Colorworks M&Ms, Jelly Bellys, and in the warmer months, Utica-based Velvet Ice Cream.
Goodwin has long been an advocate for the Clintonville Community.
“I have enjoyed being involved in community events like the 1997 Clintonville Sesquicentennial and helping to found the Clintonville Farmers’ Market in 2003,” she says. She was also instrumental in ShopClintonville.com. The products in her store and her avid support of the community, “Have been local, long before ‘local’ became a marketing term,” she says.
For more information, visit colonialcandyshoppe.com.
