The Local Exchange: Canelake’s Candies combines sweet treats with Iron Range nostalgia

VIRGINIA, MN. (Northern News Now) - If you take a drive through your city’s downtown, it is always exciting to see a new business pop up.

In this day and age, it is equally as thrilling to see a small business that has withstood the test of time.

Nestled on Chestnut Street in Virginia, Minnesota, you will find a store selling homemade candies that are made to make you feel at home.

“We like to think our candy isn’t perfect because it’s handmade,” Pamela Canelake Matson, the co-owner of Canelake’s Candies, said. “After we were nearly retired, we started craving the candy business.”

Pamela runs the business alongside her husband, Dennis.

“This has taken over our lives, but it’s fine! We’ve got a lot of good help,” Dennis said.

Pamela’s grandfather started the business in 1905.

It boasts of being the oldest candy kitchen in Minnesota.

“Some people know more about the store than I do, they’ve met my grandparents even, so we’re getting people actually in their 90s here,” Pamela said.

It is an old store that sticks to its reliable recipes made by fourth-generation family members.

“We’ve got caramel apples, caramel marshmallows, and these are going to be turtles here,” said Sam Canelake, a fourth-generation candy maker.

Canelake’s Candies does not skimp on ingredients.

“They have told us quite a bit from my grandfather and my dad to only use butter, the finest ingredients, the finest chocolate, a lot of whipping cream, follow the directions, and don’t skimp,” Pamela said. “Don’t make the recipe different. Just be consistent.”

It also doesn’t stray from tried and true equipment.

The tables in the kitchen are the same ones used in 1905, which makes them more than a century old.

Their copper-kettle-cooked caramel is even dispensed with the same funnel technique used in the olden days.

Their best-selling candy is called hot air.

Made with a secret recipe, it’s cooked, cooled, cut, and chocolate coated before getting packaged all by hand.

From chocolates to caramels, there are a lot of sweet things at Canelake’s Candies, but the business is also rich in history.

“We’ve got memorabilia from the candy kitchen, from their store, and I collect antique candy-making machines,” Pamela said.

Half of the store is a museum of sorts filled with memorabilia gifted by Iron Range businesses, families, and schools.

“Well we want to pass on the old candy-making traditions and let people experience what it was like to make candy in the old days,” Pamela said.

Some people, like Jody Guy-Krulc of Virginia, enter these doors to relive old memories.

“Canelake’s only made their caramel apples in the fall, so that was a big, ‘Fall is here because Canelake’s is making caramel apples,’ and my parents loved the Canelake’s caramel apples,” Guy-Krulc said. “I think we like to hang onto our roots and where we came from.”

Others come to Canelake’s to make new memories.

When Pamela’s family started the business all those years ago, it was not just about selling delicious candy.

“It was kind of a melting pot, and I just think candy and sweets bring people together,” Guy-Krulc said.

It was about people and the connection made with every sweet shared.

“It’s so nice to see them and hear their stories,” Pamela said.

The laughs and smiles that radiate from the sweet shop today would make the Canelake family proud.

While they try to preserve as much of the building as possible, Canelake’s Candies is currently undergoing an expansion project of their kitchen to meet the growing demand.

“We’re really grateful it was in our family, and we want to continue it forever,” Pamela said.

They are located at 414 Chestnut St, Virginia, Minnesota, 55792.

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If there is a small business that has left a big impact on your community, you can nominate them for this segment by sending an email to KJarboe@NorthernNewsNow.com.

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