Art Gentile / Staff photographer
Skip Pietrak, the long-time owner of Skip’s Candy Corner
in Peddler’s Village, and daughter Kim Pietrak-Decher
show off some of their creations. Pietrak-Decher, is
set to open Skip’s Sugar Shack, a nut-free candy shop,
next month across the street from the family candy store.
Having parents who run a candy store can be every child’s dream.
But for 3-year-old Coulton Decher, who was diagnosed about a year ago
with a severe peanut allergy, a visit to the store his mom and
grandparents run in Peddler’s Village could quickly turn into a
nightmare.
Soon, however, there will be a place for Coulton and other
food-allergic kids to enjoy a bit of the sweet life, worry-free.
Coulton’s mother, Kim Pietrak-Decher, is set to open Skip’s Sugar
Shack next month across the street from the family candy store, Skip’s
Candy Corner. The Sugar Shack will offer a nut-free environment for
birthday parties, classes and demonstrations, and will allow
Pietrak-Decher and her parents, Skip and Janet Pietrak, to make
allergen-free candy for the retail store.
“You want them to feel like every other kid, but they can’t,”
Pietrak-Decher said. “It could be life threatening to them.”
Pietrak-Decher and her husband, Mike, discovered Coulton’s allergy
about a year ago. He went into severe anaphylactic shock after eating a
small amount of peanut butter on bread, Pietrak-Decher said.
Suddenly, a trip to Skip’s was a hazard.
“Owning a candy store, you stop and think, there’s nothing in the
store my son can have,” Pietrak-Decher said. “It opened our eyes to a
lot.”
Peanut items were moved to higher shelves, and the family became
experts on keeping nut-free surfaces. They also watch Coulton closely to
make sure he doesn’t grab any products with peanuts. But getting rid of
peanuts wasn’t an option.
“It doesn’t make sense for a candy store to pull nuts out,”
Pietrak-Decher said. “It’s one of your top items.”
Lynda Mitchell, president of the Doylestown-based Kids with Food
Allergies Foundation, said businesses catering to allergic customers has
grown as food allergies have become more prevalent. An estimated 3
million children in the U.S. have food allergies, according to the
foundation.
“There are more and more children that need to have special
accommodations to keep them safe,” said Mitchell, mom to a grown son
with a severe dairy allergy. “To have peanuts and tree nuts out of that
environment completely is reassuring to the parents, but it’s also safer
for the young children.”
Mitchell said the Sugar Shack not only gives parents a party option
they otherwise wouldn’t have, it also can create loyal customers who
appreciate the work Pietrak-Decher has put in to create a safe
environment.
“We get really used to just having to do it all ourselves,” she said.
“That’s the way it has to be. To have an option where children could go
and take advantage would be a really neat thing.”
Pietrak-Decher said she’s gone out of her way to find manufacturers
who have no nuts in their facilities. She has a binder with all
ingredient information to show parents.
Kids who attend parties will get to make and take candy molds and
decorate allergen-free cupcakes provided by an outside baker.
Skip’s Sugar Shack, set to open in mid September in the former Touch
of Britain retail store, is Pietrak-Decher’s way of turning a negative
into a positive.
“I don’t have to worry,” she said. “It takes a lot off me.”
Voted Best Candy Store
3rd Place
My Fox Philly's Hot Lis
Friday September 3, 2010
95.7 BEN-FM
Marilyn (morning show personalities) shout out to us.
Dogged determination spurs protection for K-9s
By: BILL DEVLIN
The Intelligencer
February 11, 2010
A candy shop will present special vests for police
officers' four-legged friends in Warminster and Quakertown.
Who would have thought that taking a bite out of
crime could taste so sweet?
A Peddler's Village candy shop, which has been
raising money to aid police K-9 units in Bucks County, planned to
present two ballistic and stab-resistant dog vests next week to the
police chiefs of Warminster and Quakertown.
The vests, which cost more than $800 each, were
purchased with funds raised by Kim Pietrak-Decher, the owner of
Skip's Candy Corner, and her husband, Northampton police Officer
Michael P. Decher.
For the past two years, the shop has been setting
aside a percentage of the sales of their pet-related products and
gift baskets to purchase the vests.
The Plumstead husband and wife believe the vest
donations are just the beginning of their efforts to raise funds for
and draw public attention to the needs of these special units.
"There is nothing in Pennsylvania to support these
dogs," said Kim Decher.
Well, now there is.
The couple is in the process of forming the Pa K9
Assistance Foundation, a nonprofit organization, to aid "underfunded"
K-9 squads locally, statewide and, eventually, nationally.
Mike Decher said many police departments view the
K-9 units as specialty items and are not willing to expend funds
from their budgets. Warminster has the only canine unit in Central
Bucks; Quakertown the sole squad in Upper Bucks.
"When budget cuts come, the special units like the
K-9 units are first to get the ax," he said. "Some of the units,
like Quakertown's, are funded by donations."
In June 2008, Quakertown Borough Council
authorized the K-9 unit after it had received donations and pledges
in excess of $9,400, the cost of starting the unit.
"On the average, K-9 officers spend about $500 out
of their own pockets on their dogs," Decher said.
The financial strain of operating the units is one
of the reasons the Dechers have started the Pa K9 Assistance
Foundation. The other motivation for the fundraising is the work
that's done by the units.
He said that the units in both municipalities have
received hundreds of calls for service to sniff out narcotics,
apprehend fleeing criminals and subdue armed suspects.
"I think some suspects are more afraid of a dog
than they are of a gun," Decher said. "Criminals are a lot less
likely to commit crimes in an area where they know there is a K-9
unit."
The vests that chief Michael Murphy of Warminster
and chief Scott McElree of Quakertown will receive for their squads
are top of line and will furnish the dog with protection from
handguns and shotguns, as well as knives and even ice picks.
The Dechers said that the vests aren't the only
pieces of equipment the foundation will be purchasing for the units.
They want to provide heat sensors and cooling
units for the cars that transport the dogs.
"There have been dogs who have suffered
heat-related deaths because of being left in the car," Decher said.
"There are devices out there that can prevent that from happening."
Kim Decher said that the fledgling foundation has
received help from High Octane Dog Agility, a canine training
facility in Doylestown and Vest-A-Dog.
The Blue Bell-based law firm of Fox Rothschild is
doing the legal work to obtain tax-exempt non-profit status for the
foundation to allow donations to Pa K9 Assistance to be
tax-deductible.
The Dechers, who have three dogs, love animals.
They believe a lot people share that love.
"People come into the candy store and see the sign
seeking donations, and they give," Kim said.
The store also sells white-coated dog biscuits and
other dog treats. Proceeds from the sale of those items go to the
foundation.
"We love animals," Kim Decher said, "Starting our
foundation so close to Valentine's Day seems just right."
The foundation's Web site can be accessed at
www.pak9assistance.org.
Bill Devlin can be reached at 215-345-3179 or
wdevlin@phillyBurbs.com.
February 11, 2010 02:32 AM
Aired December 1, 2009 on Ch 10. Tim Furlong goes ho-ho-ho holiday shopping at Peddler's Village!
Author: Anna Wolfe
March, 2007
Specialty Retailers Section
Skip's focuses on old-fashioned candy,
customer service
LAHASKA, Pa.--While other retailers may be looking for the
hot, new trend to spice up their gourmet retail establishment, one retailer here
is content with its focus on old-fashioned candy and customer service.
Skip's Candy Corner, a 2,000-square-foot store here in Peddler's Village, has
been approached about franchising several times in its 13 years in business,
explained Janet Pietrak, who co-owns the store with her husband Skip. They're
not interested. At one time, the couple operated two stores and then
consolidated to the larger, corner storefront here in 2002.
"When we had two shops, we couldn't focus on customer service like we do now,"
she said. Instead, time was spent bouncing back and forth between the two.
Preferring a hands-on approach, franchising, too, is out.
"If our name is connected to it, it would be a reflection on us," she said. "If
we grow too big, we don't have the capability" to deliver the personal service
for which Skip's is known.
When the store is open a minimum of six to eight employees are on the floor. Two
employees man each of the store's two check out counters. "I don't want to see
people waiting in long lines," said Pietrak. Each employee is trained on a
one-on-one basis. And employees sign up for their shifts instead of the
Pietrak's writing out a schedule. "We believe one should work to live, not live
to work," she said.
The store backs up its strong focus on customer service with a unique product
mix--including nostalgic candy brands, sugar-free candies, and sweet treats made
on site including fudge and gift baskets.
Nicknamed "candy heaven" by its customers, the store carries a variety of
sweets--from imported string licorice from Denmark to sugar-free candies from
Ashers Mark Avenue, Madeleine, Koppers and Supreme, and an array of Jelly Belly
Candy Co.'s signature sweets.
Seasonal delights such as hot chocolate fill the gondolas on the store floor. In
barrels are more traditional year-round sweets such as lollipops, candy bags and
beanies.
A tour downstairs showcases raw candy, candy sticks and new candies. Bottled
water and cold sodas are on hand for those shoppers needing a liquid pick-me-up.
Pet items including dog and horse biscuits, doggie bandanas and pet bowls are
also popular. In the last four years, "our pet area has grown tremendously, said
Pietrak. About 25 SKUs are in the store's pet section.
The candy shop also has a reputation for stocking nostalgic candy brands such as
Blackjacks, Beeman's French Chews and Bonamo. Also, a bulk candy area lets the
customers create their own bag with as little or as much as they want, added
Pietrak.
With supermarkets and discount stores also selling candy, as every specialty
retailer knows, it's hard to compete on price. To remain competitive, Skip's has
a few tactics up its sleeve.
Where it makes sense, Pietrak said the store buys items in bulk and prices those
items competitively. "We hook people with low-price items first," said Pietrak.
"When I'm shopping, I'm always looking for good deals."
But the items made on site that bring in the regular customers. An assortment of
fudge is hand-made on the premises and other signature items include Irish
Potatoes that ranks as one of the store's best sellers.
Skip's promotes its store through the village's Web site.
Skip Pietrak doesn't look a
thing like Willy Wonka, and you'll find no Oompa Loompas working for him.
But he does have a thing or
two in common with the fictitious candymaker - he loves chocolate and making
customers happy.
At Skip's Candy Corner in
Lahaska, those with a sweet tooth can find chocolate-covered pretzels and
homemade fudge. There's sugar-free candy that doesn't taste sugar free, freshly
made Irish potatoes (the store's specialty) and dozens of kinds of chocolates.
Pietrak, a former Philadelphia
firefighter who also owned his own home improvement company, said he is a
stickler for quality candy and customer service. He fell in love with the candy
business shortly after he retired from the fire department as a lieutenant.
"I never had a passion for
chocolate [before then]," the Northampton resident said.
Pietrak makes the
chocolate-covered pretzels, fudge, chocolate molds, Irish potatoes and some
other candies - none of which anyone else can make to his standards, he said.
But he's gotten so busy that someone else makes the rest of the homemade sweets,
using Skip's recipes.
His wife, Janet, left her job
at a pharmaceutical company last year to help her husband run the store. She
brings her scientific accuracy to labeling, inventory and taste testing. Their
daughter, Kim Pietrak-Decher, quit her job as a software tester last summer.
She's in charge of the computerized inventory and registers.
"It's ironic that the three of
us, from the same family, bring something to this business that's so important,"
Janet Pietrak said. "We work well together."
Skip Pietrak is content to
leave the technical stuff to his wife and daughter. He would much rather make
the candy and search for special customer requests.
Skip's Candy Corner
specializes in hard-to-find candy like French Chews (the predecessor to another
favorite, Bonomo's Turkish Taffy), Mallow Cups and Black Jack gum. He even had a
stash of the original Goldberg's Peanut Chews, which he sold to a candy
collector.
"You've gotta have a niche,"
Pietrak said. "My niche is nostalgic."
The shop is celebrating its
12th anniversary next week with help from some of its Peddler's Village
neighbors. Shoppers who find special Willy Wonka-like golden tickets in
Peddler's Village shops Sept. 5 through Sept. 9 will get money off candy bought
at Skip's. One lucky ticket comes with a prize donated by Jelly Belly, the jelly
bean maker.
Eventually, the Pietraks might
retire, leaving the business to future generations of the family. That's fine
with Pietrak-Decher, who enjoys using her computer skills, working with
customers and being able to spend a lot more time at home.
"It's not a chore," Kim said.
"It's a constant vacation. It's fun."
