FOLSOM, Calif. — Snooks Candies & Chocolate Factory in Folsom is expanding and hopes to complete the project by Christmas 2024.
The candy store, which stands on the corner of Sutter and Wool streets and has a been a part of the Historic District since 1984, will expand into the space next door after renting it out to another tenant for over 20 years, according to Eric Snook, a third-generation confectioner in the family business.
In 1963, Snook’s grandparents opened their first candy store in Arden Fair when it was an outdoor mall, Snook said. The shop moved near Sutter and Riley streets in Downtown Folsom in 1984. It moved one block southwest to occupy its current space in 2002.
“At the time… we quickly realized we needed to get a tenant,” Snook said.
The Snooks put up a wall and rented its next-door space to Not Too Shabby, a home goods store, he said. Around two years ago, Snook said the candy store first notified Not Too Shabby it intended to fill the space with more confectionery.
Snook said this allowed Not Too Shabby ample time to find a new spot on Sutter Street and it's now underneath Riley’s on Sutter, formerly Hacienda Del Rio.
“We’ve just quickly outgrown that space that we’re in,” Snook told ABC10.
He said the candy store needs more equipment, including milk chocolate and dark chocolate enrobers, or dipping machines that pour chocolate to coat products like pretzels and popcorn. Snooks make all of its chocolate from scratch, he said.
More retail space is key in the expansion, Snook said. The candy store plans to feature a gift shop of sorts with new inventory including products like a stuffed animal of Sutter Street’s famous unofficial pig mascot, Winnie, who turned 8 in January. The toy would wear a T-shirt bearing the text, “Snooks loves Winnie.”
“Our main idea is a gift shop with two additional registers and a better shopping experience especially during the holidays,” he said. “There’s gonna be a little bit of everything…increase the stuff we make but also (the) stuff that promotes the community. It’s still going to be Snooks-oriented, Snooks-focused products including the Historic District.”
Snook said customers often express a desire for more seating. This is something the business is looking into during the expansion process, but he said the idea may not come to fruition.
“We get a lot of customers, and the first thing they ask is, ‘are you guys adding more seating?’ We’d love to add more seating, but we need to add more space for production,” he said. “We don’t know how much seating we would be able to add if we add space for production development and (a) shipping line.”
