LP_113017

lockportlegend.com DINING OUT
the Lockport Legend | November 30, 2017 | 27
The Dish
A cornucopia of confectionery charm
Dan’s Homemade
Candies offers
favorite sweets
of chocolate
connoisseurs
T.J. Kremer III, Editor
So many things have
changed since 1919 that it
is pointless to even begin to
mention what some of those
things are.
But at least two things
have remained the same
in the southwest suburbs:
Dan’s Homemade Candies
and the way those candies
are made.
In 1991, Richard and Carol
Nelson purchased Dan’s
from a family friend. The
Nelsons ran the business for
16 years before turning it
over to their own daughters
in 2007. They continue to
own and manage the store’s
three locations between Joliet
and Mokena.
And it has been a labor of
love for co-owner Kristine
Collins and her sister Kelly
Bostjancic, who manages
the Mokena location, which
opened in 2012.
“I love interacting with
the customers and hearing
their stories of when they
were a kid coming in and
buying candy with their
parents, like the traditional
caramel apples every season
— got to have those caramel
apples,” Collins said. “People
come in happy. Even if
they don’t have a piece of
candy in their mouths yet,
they’re just anticipating,
and they’re happy.”
Those customers have
plenty to be happy about,
too. The Mokena location
makes plain fudge and nut
fudge, English toffee, mint
meltaway centers, caramel
apples — when in season —
and chocolate molds.
Dan’s Homemade Candies in Mokena offers pre-assorted boxes of chocolates, caramels and
creams for around $24.50 for a 1-pound box. Photos by T.J. Kremer III/22nd Century Media
The Cass Street store in
Joliet is where the creams
are made, and the Plainfield
Road store — also in Joliet
— makes creams into whatever
flavors are needed and
adds the chocolate covers.
Plainfield Road also chocolate-coats
most other candies
and makes the flavored
popcorn, and each store
makes its own caramel and
clusters. They use the same
chocolate supply company
in Chicago as they did back
in 1919. Chocolates stay the
same year-round, but novelty
candies change with the
holidays and seasons.
One of the more popular
selections is a local candy:
the G-Shaft hard candy
($7.25 per pound), which is
a mint-flavored hard candy
that originated in Coal City.
The legend goes that a
woman whose husband died
started making the candy,
and right outside her window
was a mine — Mine
Shaft G.
Perhaps even more famous
than the G-Shaft is
Dan’s signature caramel,
the recipe for which has
been passed down since
1919 and is kept secure in
a safe.
The caramel comes in a
variety of forms — from
straight caramel pieces to
chocolate-covered, and
pieces with or without nuts
— and sells for $24.50-
$25.50 a pound.
“A lot of people say it’s
[their favorite], because it’s
soft,” Bostjancic said. “You
know, you eat a Brach’s
candy, and it’s a little bit
chewy, and they can’t do
it with dentures or fillings.
Our caramel is softer and
it has a great taste. ... And
that’s a Dan’s original recipe.”
Friendly service and a
quality product are what
keep a lot of customers returning.
And that repeat
Customers also have the option of creating their own assortments
at Dan’s Homemade Candies.
business means the sisters
get to know well what different
customers like and
are able to offer suggestions
for new products.
“I have one woman who
has come in since her little
guy was 2 years old,” Collins
said. “He’s married and
expecting his own kid now.
And it’s kind of cool that we
know our customers personally.”
But that is not even the
best part of owning a candy
store, according to Bostjancic.
“For me, the fun part is
at the beginning of every
holiday, we make chocolate
molds,” Bostjancic said.
“It’s just fun to see, OK,
today we’re doing all the
pumpkin suckers and the
Frankensteins, and that holiday’s
over and now we’re
doing turkeys, and now that
holiday’s over and now I get
to pull out the Santa suckers,
and then the Easter bunnies.
Even though we use
the same molds, it’s just fun
to see them come out, and
it’s like, ‘We made this. We
made these 900 gingerbread
suckers. We did this.’
“I guess it’s a sense of
accomplishment, but also
just how cute everything is
just makes you happy when
you look at your table and
you’re like, ‘This is really
awesome that we have this
and we can do this for people.’”
But the most exciting
part, Bostjancic said, is
when they get a new mold,
like they did this year for
a special Hanukkah mold.
Those chocolate suckers
and other holiday and novelty
candies range from 80
cents for a quarter-pound
bag of gummy snowflakes
to $12.25 for a pound of
peanut brittle.
Candy is sold by the
piece, as well as in bulk
packages. In fact, one of
the first customers at the
Mokena location spent several
weeks coming in and
buying only four pieces at
a time until she had gotten
through all the candies,
so that she could figure out
which were her favorites.
“I thought it was the funniest
thing and the cleverest
thing,” Bostjancic said.
“She tried every product
we had, four at a time, each
week.”
Dan’s Homemade
Candies
11400 W. Lincoln
Highway in Mokena
Hours
•9 a.m.-7 p.m. -
Monday-Friday
•9a.m.-5:30 p.m. -
Saturday
For more information…
Web:
danshomemadecandies.
com
Phone: (815) 464-0827
Dan’s has you covered
when it comes to assorted
chocolates and/or creams,
too. A 1-pound box goes
for $24.50, and Dan’s
Christmas Towers, which
come with an assortment
of candies, sell for $40.99-
$46.99.
And with any luck, Dan’s
could stay in the family for
year’s to come.
“I just hope the kids will
take over,” Collins said.
“That’s my dad’s idea. He
always wanted to keep the
whole family together. …
Now, it’s our turn and we’re
thinking like that, too. We’re
thinking about our kids and
nieces and nephews.
“We just want to keep the
business going and keep
everyone happy, mostly. I
mean, how can you not be
happy waiting on customers
who are happy all day?”