Business & Tech

Old-Fashioned Candy, Christmas on the Square All Year Long

A Christmas store, gift shop and a source of old-fashioned and homemade candy will open off Marietta Square in April.

Miss the good old days of homemade fudge, boxed Belgian chocolate, chocolate covered popcorn, lollipops in fun shapes, cotton candy, Zotz, Pixy Stix and Big League Chew? Can't wait for the magic of Christmas to come around again.

Well the spirit of Christmas and these nostalgic treats are coming to Marietta Square all year long. The Ye Olde Christmas and Candy Shoppe will open in April at 87 Church Street.

"I've always had a dream of opening my own store, but I thought it would be  way in the future. But I just had this epiphany one day and said, 'This is what I want to be doing, and this is what I'm going to do,'" owner Dianne Murphy, of Acworth, said.

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Christmas is Murphy's favorite time of year. In fact she used to be a Christmas elf. She helped decorate homes and businesses for Christmas. Now she is going to sell the products for others to decorate.

"I wanted to bring back that nostalgic feeling, and candy fell into place with that," Murphy, who use to be a preschool teacher and later ran a childcare service, explained. "I love children and seeing them, working with kids, this will be a kind of thing I still get to enjoy."

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In addition to novelty candy for kids, homemade specialties and nostalgic favorites, like Necco, candy necklaces and rock candy, the shop will cary sugar-free and gluten-free chocolate.

There will be eight to 10 trees on display in the shop with different themes, which will be changed twice a year depending on the current trends. The themes for the opening include old world, traditional and collegiate, among others. Murphy intends on carrying ornaments for major NFL teams and general ornaments for the more common types of sports, like football and baseball, as well as tennis, lacrosse, swimming, etc. "The out of the ordinary things."

Specialty ornaments will also include Marietta and Georgia themes, such as peaches, Marietta Square and possibly the Big Chicken.

"Wherever I travel I always find myself at a Christmas shop. I have to get an ornament," Murphy said. "I was like there's no Christmas shop here. We need a Christmas shop. It fit."

Murphy also described the store as a gift shop with picture frames, candles, homemade soap, stockings, wreaths, ornaments and more.

"You'll see a lot of my personality in the store. I don't carry something unless I know I would like it."

Murphy intends to be the face of the store. "I love meeting new people. It's a gift for me to help them choose a gift for a specific person, to watch children's eyes when they come in and see all the lights and candy, to provide gourmet chocolate for a special someone."

Murphy knew she wanted to open her business on the Square. The shop has "an old-fashioned theme and a very fitting name. It fits the Square perfectly."

She saw about four different buildings before finding her new home. "As soon as I stood in front of it, I was like this is it. I've never felt so strongly about something in my life as I do about this business. I have not doubted it for one moment along the way. This is a dream coming true, just earlier than expected."

The back room of the shop will be the Chapel Room. "Everything back there is going to be Christian-based," Murphy said. "It's dedicated to the Lord because I wouldn't have all of this without him." The room will focus specifically on Catholic items.

It is hard to find crucifixes, the Catholic bible, rosaries and other Catholic items at stores, even Christian stores, Murphy said. "We have a strong Catholic base in Marietta, and that's in need of something like this."

One of Murphy's goals is to hold later hours so people can come to the Square after work. "It's light out late, and there are all those events on the Square. It just makes sense to be open later." Murphy hopes later hours will become a trend among businesses on the Square. "I want to make it (Marietta Square) more of the destination spot that it deserves to be."

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