GOSHEN—Combining the nostalgia of the good ol' times with the euphoria of a sugar high is what the newly opened candy store Sweet Tymes at 159 W. Main Street in Goshen is trying to do.
The street-level shop, which opened July 1, is packed from floor to ceiling with sweet treats like Tabasco sauce jars of jelly beans, caramel canoe paddles, gummy worm pizza, and sushi rolls made from Fruit Roll-Ups, marshmallows, and Rice Krispies.
The store also serves milkshakes, egg creams, ice cream, soda floats, and its specialty—homemade fudge.
Not seeing a future for a brick-and-mortar antiques store in the village, David Seligmann, a co-owner of the store, said he wanted to combine his love of antiques with a local business that would allow him to spend more time with his family.
He bought a home in Goshen 16 years ago, but for the last decade has been living in South America designing hotels and casinos with his architecture and design firm. Now he’s ready to be home.
The store is full of antiques like a wooden Coca-Cola box, a children’s cart from 1892, and a bookcase made out of old pipes that go along with the store’s old-fashioned spelling of “time.” Seligmann wanted to incorporate some antique clocks he had, which were the inspiration for the name, he said.
He thinks he has a niche being the only candy store in the village, and so far, he says the reception has been “phenomenal.”
The other way the store is distinguishing itself is through its hours. During the week it is open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday, and on Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. On the weekends, it is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and is closed on Sunday.
“In this town, pretty much everything closes at 4 p.m. in the afternoon,” Seligmann said. “[So] I’m the guy who’s staying open.”
He also hopes to stand out by selling ice cream all year-round, because “people eat ice cream year-round.”
In keeping with the antique theme, he’s looking for a bicycle ice cream cart to sell ice cream from at events in the village.
Right now the store employs five local college students, in addition to Seligmann’s son Lee, who runs the business with him.
The village resident says he’s planning to involve the community in other ways, like with fundraisers for local school groups or senior citizens. He’s already talked to the Goshen Art League about painting his chairs like the painted public pianos that were unveiled this spring.
“I’ve been away, and now I want to be back in the community,” Seligmann said.
Already the family has plans to expand upstairs by creating a dessert café over the storefront that Seligmann said he hopes will open to the public in September.
“It’s kind of a Starbucks, but with desserts,” he said. “[Like] a decadent dessert lounge.”
It will be open for private parties before then, Seligmann said, and he has plans to make it arts and crafts-focused “to give people something to do.”
With all the sweet business he’s doing, it seems logical that sweets would be at the bottom of his food pyramid. When asked if he had a sweet tooth though, he said no.
“I’m diabetic,” he said.
“When I started this, I took my daughter … and we did a 200-mile radius to visit other candy stores and to taste ice cream. She had to do all the taste testing. After about two weeks, she says, ‘No more ice cream.’”
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