Candy House sweet on Springfield

Dieters beware. Krispy Kreme is not the only temptation on South Campbell.

Richardson's Candy House, with locations in Joplin and Carthage, will open its third location in late October at 3857 S. Campbell Ave. in the Parkcrest Shopping Center, just across the street from the new Krispy Kreme store.

Pat and Terry Hicklin own the business, and their daughter, Bonnie Hicklin, will manage the Springfield store and serve as candy cook.

"We'll have a full working kitchen out where people can watch the candy being made," Terry Hicklin said.

The interactive candy concept is based on the Hicklins' experience at their Joplin area store.

"We have so many demands for tours to go back through our manufacturing area here, I thought we'd actually bring the kitchen area right out into the showroom," he said.

About 75 percent of the candy sold in the store will be manufactured on site. The Hicklins are planning a grand opening event Nov. 15-17.

The 2,200-square-foot store is designed by architect Alan Bates, of Bates & Associates, and the dcor will echo the Candy House's Carthage location.

Sweet deals

Richardson's Candy House does a nationwide business that goes wild around the holidays. The company will ship out 100 orders a day beginning the day after Thanksgiving, peaking at 400 orders a day the week before Christmas, Terry Hicklin said. A Web site, www.candyhouse.net, provides convenient contact for customers.

Employment is seasonal, growing from about 30 to as many as 55 during the holiday season.

A significant portion of Candy House business comes from corporate gifts, including individualized gift boxes featuring companies' names and logos in gold foil, Terry said. It also provides molded chocolate logos and chocolate business cards.

Although the Candy House is new to Springfield, its products aren't. The company offers a set of four custom-designed animal suckers in a custom-molded gift box at the American National Fish and Wildlife Museum gift shop.

To date, more than 13,000 of the suckers have been sold.

Springfield Business & Technology Expo attendees will get a preview of the Candy House's wares Oct. 10 at Bass Pro Shops.

Meet the Hicklins

While the Hicklins have only owned the company for three years, running a small business is nothing new for Terry Hicklin, a Springfield native known for his singing and his support of Springfield Regional Opera.

He previously co-owned Hicklin Marketing, a food brokerage business, with his father Oscar and his sister, Kathy Ross.

In 1999, after four mergers in three years, Hicklin's 25-employee small business became part of a 9,000-employee company, and Terry Hicklin had become president of the Wal-Mart Division for Acosta Sales.

Terry accepted a corporate buyout offer, and he and Pat looked around for something they could do together; they found what they wanted when the Candy House came up for sale.

Candy House history

Richardson's Candy House was founded in 1970 by Don and Peggy Richardson. "They bought an 80-year-old rock tavern about two miles south of Joplin and converted it into a candy store," Pat Hicklin said.

Customers enjoyed the quaint ambiance, she said, and they particularly appreciated the high quality, hand-dipped gourmet chocolates made at the Candy House.

The Hicklins are the third owners of the business, having purchased it from Bill and Joyce Kastler in 1999.

The original Candy House is at 454 Redings Mill Road, two miles south of Joplin on Highway 86.

The Carthage store, opened one year ago, is located in the Village Shopping Center in Carthage.