BLISSFIELD — Kimberly Precour had the idea of starting a candy and soda shop for about 20 years before opening Sugartown Sweets & Soda Shoppe in downtown Blissfield. That dream is now a reality.

Sugartown Sweets & Soda Shoppe had its grand opening on July 18. Precour was awarded a $25,000 Match on Main grant through the Michigan Economic Development Corp., which allows for reimbursement for renovation expenses. The funds will allow Precour to expand beyond selling candy and sodas to actually making chocolates and other sweets.

“For us, this grant is about more than adding equipment or expanding what we offer,” Precour said. “It gives us the opportunity to continue building Sugartown into the kind of place we envisioned from the beginning.”

The store features the “Willy Wonka” feel that Precour imagined. The decor is a blend of the original features that date back to the 1850s, along with Amish-made counters and cabinetry that allow the customers to “travel back in time,” she said.

All the products offered at Sugartown Sweets & Soda Shoppe are made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup. Sugar-free options are available for the chocolates, soda syrups, dark chocolate covered marshmallows, licorice, taffy and caramels. Precour hopes to expand the sugar-free options in the future.  

She sources the candies and sodas from older companies, including salt-water taffy that comes from Shriver’s, which has been selling salt-water taffy on the New Jersey boardwalk since 1898. Another source, a candy maker from France that is sixth-generational, is a source for the bulk candy.

Many of the bulk candies come in flavors that aren’t common, which allows customers to “expand their taste buds,” Precour said. 

The chocolate truffles are also made by smaller companies that are smaller-batch confectioners from all over the United States. The store also carries marshmallow treats made by a husband-and-wife team that travel the United States and create flavors to reflect each state they visit.

The sodas are Italian-style, made from syrup and carbonated water, and can be topped with cold foam or homemade whipped cream. 

The soda counter itself currently seats eight people. Precour is planning to add table seating near the front windows. 

With the Match on Main funding, Precour plans to add a candy kitchen that will allow customers to watch while Precour makes chocolates and dipped items, such as caramel apples and chocolate-dipped strawberries.  

Precour and her family — husband Paul and daughter Sophia — moved to Blissfield in 2019.

“Blissfield is exactly what we were looking for,” she said. “We’re glad we’re here.”

Sugartown Sweets & Soda Shoppe
117 W. Adrian St., Blissfield
Phone: 517-392-3638
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