42nd Street Candy Company at Balliet's
“Closing this store was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.” Teresa Wall, who has owned 42nd Street Candy Company since 2000, shared her experience buying, growing, struggling, and eventually closing the neighborhood candy shop many of us loved for years. “The last day I was driving home and just broke down. I kept thinking about all the kids I’ve seen grow up in my store, and all the families I’ve become a part of. Will I ever see them again?”
If you are familiar with 42nd Street Candy Company, you most likely shopped there for years. It was opened in 1979 by Helen Sullivan. Teresa was a customer when Pat Aaron was the owner, and one day she walked in the store to see a “For Sale” sign in the window. She knew then she had to have this store, and once she bought it, it did quite well. “We were in the 650 square foot area right next to VZD’s Restaurant. We outgrew it and moved into the 1500 square foot location in 2007, just down the hall.” Teresa is a creative free spirit, and used her creativity to make 42nd Street Candy Company her own. “We added candy buffets, expanded our inventory, and our gift basket business. Things were going so well, but VZD’s temporarily closed, and then the road construction. We had our best year ever, the year before the construction started.”
The construction on Western Avenue took quite a while to complete, and it hurt many businesses. Several closed or moved. After a year of construction, Teresa put her savings into her shop to try to save it. It unfortunately was not enough. Customers had found other places to shop, and keeping the store open just wasn’t viable anymore. “You can blame a lot of reasons, but sometimes things just happen.”
The day the news of the store closing hit the paper, Bob Benham, owner of Balliet’s, walked in to see her. He told Teresa that he wanted to talk to her about having her store inside his store. Completely shocked, and heartbroken from the loss of her 18 year business, Teresa told him she had to think about it. After some time, she contacted Bob and asked him to meet and discuss how it could work.
There were multiple ways to do it, but Teresa didn’t want to spend all her time at the store. She also recently started Gypsy Wicks Candle Company, which is taking off, and she needed to have time for that business. After discussing where in Balliet’s it would be located (upstairs melts the chocolate), and if it would be a separate kiosk, they came to an agreement. The best way to keep the 42nd Street Candy Company name alive was for Teresa to use her expertise to order the items, and mark them with the 42nd Street brand. Customers can grab them as they shop, and check out all in one place. This makes it more convenient for the customers, allows Teresa to stay involved but also work on her candles, and Balliet’s gets the benefit of having a true candy expert choose an inventory specifically geared towards their customers. Teresa and her graphic designer even created a new logo incorporating the Balliet’s red dot.
For those of you thinking, I’m glad I can get great candy, but I miss seeing Teresa, don’t despair. Teresa is present at special events, and will be working a pop-up shop this winter in midtown. Talking to this sweet and quirky friend of mine, I could tell she was busy. But I think that’s honestly how she likes it. She talked about being pulled in many directions, but followed it up with, “You can’t complain about it if it’s your doing”. Thankfully, she’s making time to continue her candy legacy. Be sure to stop in Balliet’s and check out Teresa’s holiday picks.
