Berwyn’s Old Fashioned Candies celebrates 40 years in business

BERWYN – What began as a chance meeting between two young people in a Chicago candy store in the 1960s has grown into a Berwyn staple that has been serving up delectable treats to residents for 40 years.

Old Fashioned Candies, located on Cermak Road, celebrated the milestone anniversary with weekend specials that included 40-cent taffy apples, popcorn bags and cotton candy, as well as 40-percent-off chocolate-covered strawberries and hard candy.

Donna Greenwald, one of the store’s co-owners, said the secret of the store’s longevity is the employees take their time and try to get to know each customer.

“We have a really good product at reasonable prices,” she explained. “We make everything in small batches with quality ingredients, so it’s always fresh. But the customer service is big. They get individual attention.”

George and Theresa Brunslik, the store’s original owners, met at a Chicago candy store, which they eventually bought in 1969 and named Old Fashioned Candies. Once the rent got to be too high, they left the city and moved with their children to Berwyn. They opened Old Fashioned Candies on Cermak Road in August 1976. Since 2002, three of the couple’s daughters, Lynn White, Sandra Figatner and Donna Greenwald, have owned the business, which also is staffed by their children.

Danny White, co-owner Lynn White’s son, said he loves being among the third generation in his family to work in the store.

“This is the community I grew up in. It’s part of who I am, and I care about it because this is my family’s history,” he said.

Some of the popular treats available at Old Fashioned Candies are chocolate-covered strawberries, taffy apples, red candy apples and, of course, more than 50 varieties of assorted chocolates. Greenwald said they make their own taffy and candy apples and manufacture and dip all of the chocolates at their store.

“We’re proud we can say we’re still here after 40 years because we’re a small business,” she said. “A lot of bigger chain stores sell similar boxed candy, but it’s not the same quality, and that’s what keeps us in business. They also don’t have the same customer service as we do.”

Tony Griffin, executive director of the Berwyn Development Corporation, said staying in business for 40 years is a testament to Old Fashioned Candies’ dedication to the community and being able to provide a great product that keeps people coming back.

“To reach 40 years is significant. They’ve been a staple on Cermak Road and in Berwyn,” he said. “It’s generations within the same family, so that’s unique that they’ve ensured the same quality over 40 years.”

Old Fashioned Candies suffered a major setback in January 2014 when its neighbor, Art’s Bike Shop, was destroyed by fire. The candy store was closed for almost 10 months to repair smoke and water damage. Lynn White said the words of encouragement her family received from their customers lifted them up while they were closed. Old Fashioned Candies re-opened in October 2014, just in time for Houby Day.

“This is our livelihood and we were so sad, but our customers embraced us on Facebook,” Lynn said. “Our re-opening was unbelievable. We were in tears the whole time. So many customers came back, and they made everything worthwhile.”

And more than two years after the devastating fire, Old Fashioned Candies is going strong. Lynn said business continues to be very good.

“This isn’t just a job for us. It’s our passion, and we love what we do,” she said. “We’re very proud and humbled that we’ve been around for 40 years. We’ve worked very hard for what we have, and we have the best, most loyal customers in the world.”

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If you go

What: Old Fashioned Candies

Address: 6210 Cermak Road, Berwyn

Hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday

Info: oldfashionedcandiesinc.com