Candy Shop Cafe owner says Alger Heights is a sweet spot to do business

Deborah Johnson Wood

Kathleen Jackson doesn't sugar-coat the story when she says finding the right location for The Candy Shop Café was an answer to prayer – the words come straight from her heart.

Jackson and her husband Michael, both 29, opened the combination coffee shop/café/candy store at 2404 Eastern Ave. SE in February. Michael, a former personal chef and a food services manager at Saint Mary's Health Care, operates the catering side of the business.

"About three years ago I met Barb Bush, the owner of the building," Kathleen Jackson says. "The first café in this spot had just closed down and I heard about the fire with the hardware store next door. Once I saw the space, I thought this would be an amazing place for us to continue what we were already doing, which was catering. I said, Lord, if you open the doors, we'll walk through."

The shop is in the same building as Sundaes in the Heights, directly behind the popular ice cream spot. Both spaces were damaged in 2006 when Alger Hardware caught fire.

"My husband and I worked for a candy company and loved it. We loved people coming in and seeing the candies they used to get when they were kids," Jackson says. "So we have a small retro candy store inside the shop that sells Dots, Mary Janes, Slo Pokes Suckers, Gumballs, Jaw Breakers. We also carry fudge and gourmet popcorn from Pentwater Popcorn."

The café offers breakfast sandwiches including vegetarian wraps, coffee, lattes and cappuccinos. The lunch menu includes gourmet sandwiches – ham and cheese, Reuben, club – and a build your own sandwich option with a selection of breads, meats and cheeses. Taco salad and a chicken Caesar salad are popular picks right now, Jackson says.

Customers can keep up with store events on Facebook at The Works Candy and Catering Company. Store hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

Source: Kathleen Jackson, The Candy Store Café

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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].