A candyland on Main Street
Pee Wee’s Sweets, named for store owner Steve Shelton’s youngest daughter, offers a variety of homemade candies and sweets ranging from fresh taffy to chocolate-covered Cheetos and potato chips, two of the store’s most popular items. The candy store is an outgrowth of Shelton’s toy store, Magical Moon Toys, where Shelton first began selling homemade fudge.
“The fudge quickly became the number-one-selling item in our toy store,” Shelton said.
As they became more involved in the candy-making process, Shelton said, the candy store became a “necessity.” In addition to candies, the store also has a variety of games from Magical Moon Toys, but the store is still primarily a sweets shop.
“We wanted to make it have the feel of a traditional USA downtown sweet shop,” Shelton said. “I really believe the candy we make here is more of an artisan’s approach.”
All of the candy at Pee Wee’s Sweets is made from scratch, with the exception of chocolate centers. Shelton said they are working on getting the equipment to make these, too, from scratch.
“The difference between my candy store and everyone else’s is I can make it any way I want,” Shelton said. “If I’m making sour green apple taffy, it’s going to be sour.”
The taffy, along with caramel and the syrups for hard candies, are stretched on a machine that is one of only four original prototypes from 1927. The taffies and caramels are sliced and wrapped in waxed paper by the machine, which can process 100-120 pieces per minute.
“When you chew it until it’s all gone, the flavor is still there,” Shelton said about his taffy. “We have a company that makes our flavorings as we order them so it is always fresh. They are phenomenal flavors.”
Shelton also said they use coconut or palm oils rather than butter in their taffy-making. This makes the taffies healthier and doesn’t give the candy a buttery aftertaste.
“The flavor is all the taste,” Shelton said.
In addition to homemade candies, Pee Wee’s Sweets also sells ice cream and nostalgic sodas, including a root beer float made from Triple XXX root beer, the oldest family-owned brand of root beer.
“People say it is the best root beer float they have ever tasted,” Shelton said, explaining the root beer has a smooth texture and a caramel flavor. “I get it directly from the family,” Shelton said.
The hard-scooped ice cream served in Pee Wee’s Sweets also comes from a unique source: Aggie Ice Cream.
“We’re proud of that,” Shelton said. “It’s part of this community, this culture. Why not sell it?”
Aggie fans can also buy chocolate-covered sunflower seeds in Aggie blue and white.
“We have a lot of candies you just don’t find anywhere else,” Shelton said.
Shelton, who graduated from Utah State University in 1997 with a degree in marketing, was raised in Logan and is excited to now own both a toy store and a candy store in the area. He remembers getting his haircut in a barbershop located below where his candy shop is located
“It’s kind of fun to see it come full circle,” Shelton said.
Logan High School student April Allen, who has worked at Pee Wee’s Sweets since it opened this summer, said, “There’s so much stuff that you can’t really have a favorite overall.”
This “stuff” includes: homemade chocolates, gourmet popcorns, bulk candy, taffy, brittles, caramel, fudge, cotton candy, glazed nuts, hard tack candies, nostalgic sodas and chocolate covered orange and raspberry candy sticks.
“They were a tasty, delicious snack,” said Annie Smith, a freshman at USU, of the candy sticks. “It was a perfect mix with a crunchy chocolate and a yummy jelly inside.”
“We use a really, really good chocolate,” Shelton said.
He said the chocolate can be bought and used in fondues or as a dipping chocolate for everything from pretzels to strawberries.
“We’re adding more stuff all the time,” Shelton said, mentioning their plans for having a hot chocolate machine. And with the upcoming holidays, there will be even more candy options, especially ones including peppermint and pumpkin flavors.
Right now Pee Wee’s Sweets sells a limited-time pumpkin fudge.
“It’s like a pumpkin pie but without the crust,” Shelton said.
Pee Wee’s Sweets is located on the northwest corner of Center Street and Main Street. Store hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
– marleah.jacobson@aggiemail.usu.edu
PEE WEE SWEETS is located on the northwest corner of Center and Main. The shop opened this summer. JOSHUA BUTTS photo