By Martha Aitkin, Bruce Peninsula Press
Since its opening day back in 1980 and up until the recent season’s end closing, the Sweet Shop in Tobermory has been a real “sweet spot” for local residents and visitors alike. The hand-made crunchy brittles, creamy fudge, delicious chocolate treats, and candied popcorn, created with pride from original Sweet Shop recipes, have been delighting our taste buds for 45 years!
Oh, and did I mention ice cream?
Mike Goman developed the business and opened the original store in what is now The Trading Post in 1980. In 1985 he partnered with Dr. George Harpur to buy the property where the Sweet Shop is currently located. They hired a local contractor, Winston Hollis, to build the store. The goal was to bring something unique to Tobermory, something that would make children smile and something that would provide local employment opportunities. After nearly a half a century in the business of making candy and scooping ice cream, Mr. Goman has put the business (including the recipes!), the building and the land on the market for sale.
In my conversation with Helen McFarlane, store manager for the past 23 summers, we reflected on the history of this iconic candy store. Like so many others, in the years when I was raising my children and bringing them to Tobermory for summer vacations, no trip to Tobermory was ever complete without a visit to The Sweet Shop. The excitement grew as we drove up the highway watching for our favourite billboards. “Scream for Ice Cream” and “Losing Weight? Fight Back!” to name just two.
Photo: Helen McFarlane has been manager of The Sweet Shop for over 23 years.
Bruce Peninsula Press
Photo: The well-known Sweet Shop billboards feature sayings such as “Losing Weight? Fight Back!”.
Photo: The Sweet Shop bears were a popular photo op for many families visiting the Bruce Peninsula.
Helen shared memories of watching children squeal with delight as they entered the store, often stopping to hug the small carved wooden bears. She spoke fondly of long-term relationships with staff and how much passion they had for what they did. “Everyone from confectioners that made candy, our chocolatier who loved making chocolates for people and the staff in the store, loved what they were doing”. The young people scooping ice cream challenged each other to see who could get the best reaction from a customer.
Many of the summer students who started to work at The Sweet Shop while they were in high school returned summer after summer to scoop ice cream until they finished their university education.
Helen remembers Cindy Hollis as a delightful mainstay of the store for many years. Cindy was great with the young staff. She kept them moving and working and having fun with her sparkling humour and her Newfie dialect. Denise Trahan was The Sweet Shop chocolatier for more than 15 years. I remember the early years of the Sweet Shop and long-time manager of the Sweet Shop, Ethel Haythorne.
We talked about the difficult COVID years, which, as we know, had a significant impact on businesses everywhere. Adaptations were necessary everywhere and The Sweet Shop met the challenge willingly with extra staff to help control the number of people in the store and keep up with the constantly changing regulations regarding capacity, masking and distancing. The Sweet Shop underwent some renovations to create take out windows in their efforts to keep staff and visitors safe. For a time during COVID it was quieter in the village. In spite of the uncertainty, there were always some visitors and young people in need of summer jobs. Helen and her staff found a way to continue to meet the customer need for sweet treats to make our lives more bearable in those hard days.
More recently, navigating enhanced food handling and food safety regulations has kept Helen and her staff on their toes.
Helen also reflected on changes in the customer culture over the years as Tobermory, and Parks Canada, has needed to institute parking regulations, parking reservations and time-limited visits to the parks. It seems that the days of leisurely walks and shopping in the village with opportunities to “soak it all up” have turned into quick visits with many visitors focusing on the clock and having to get somewhere.
Photos above and below: The Sweet Shop storefront from over the years. 
A story about The Sweet Shop in Tobermory would not be complete without mentioning the many ways in which this shop and its people have contributed to the Tobermory community. Hundreds of young people have had summer jobs in the store to help them pay for education, and a few community members have enjoyed year-round employment. The Sweet Shop has hosted school field trips and visits from other youth groups over the years. It seems to me that every community fund-raising activity focused on young people and families has received generous support through donations of candy, coffee and cash.
I wonder, what will replace The Sweet Shop in this “sweet spot” in the village of Tobermory? Is anyone else hoping for a buyer to walk in and get the candy making going again pretty much as is?
