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SYRACUSE EATS
The sweet escape SWEET DREAM CANDY SHOPPE PERSEVERES DURING PANDEMIC Ashley M. Casey
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avigating the coronavirus pandemic has been difficult for all business owners, but it has been an especially trying time for fledgling entrepreneurs. Fortunately for Robin Mack, owner of Sweet Dream Candy Shoppe in Baldwinsville, her business is buoyed by the tight-knit B’ville community. Less than a year into her post-retirement venture — Mack spent 20 years as a nurse for St. Joseph’s Health — COVID-19 brought everyday life to a screeching halt. Weddings, showers and other special events for which Mack was supplying favors and candy buffets were put on hold. “We were just starting to get going with that when we first opened in 2019, and I had booked a bunch of weddings in 2020. I had to regroup and figure out how to keep going,” Mack said. Thanks to her devoted fan base — Sweet Dream has nearly 2,600 Facebook likes and over 1,100 followers on Instagram — and the support of her family and fellow business owners, Mack has
Robin Mack sits beside the Wall of Fame, featuring pictures of the children who visit her store with their favorite candies. The children, she said, enjoy finding their own photos and the photos of their friends on their visits.
been able to persevere. “The support that we each show each other just trying to keep each other going is huge,” she said. When most businesses were closed to foot traffic, Mack implemented curbside pickup and began taking orders over social media. She offers free delivery in the Baldwinsville area. “People [have been] nervous about going out in public,” she said. Sweet Dream has partnered with other Baldwinsville businesses for small, private events. In December, Sweet Dream and Bliss Bridal hosted the Red Wine Soirée, which featured wines from Strigo Vineyards and catering by Angry Garlic.
March 2021
The wine tasting had two sessions and capped attendance so no more than 10 people would be in the shop at a time. Sweet Dream also collaborated with Pizza Man Pub for Thursday date night packages and family dinners at Greens ’N’ Grains, which opened next door to the candy shop in 2020. As Central New York families adjusted to working, learning and playing from home, Sweet Dream developed new products to entertain chocolate lovers of all ages. Mack created scavenger hunt kits and chocolate charades for children and an escape room kit for adults. While she’s no longer putting in shifts at the hospital, Mack is
acutely aware of the pressures facing workers on the front lines of the COVID crisis. “I have good friends that are still working in the hospitals, and they are definitely struggling,” she said. “The thing that’s hard, too, is nurses were feeling burned out before the pandemic. I can’t even imagine the stressors that they’re feeling.” To show her appreciation, Mack put together 50 candy gift baskets for first responders last spring. She is looking to repeat the gesture this year. Mack has carried lessons from her nursing career into her new business. “That fast pace of working in the emergency room
Heroes, Families & Pets Edition
