Village Squire, 1977-06, Page 13It's the sweet taste
of success
for Rheo Thompson
Candies, Stratford
BY DEBBIE RANNEY
It is not a pretentious building, though it is attractive but
the reason it catches the attention is the display of candy
featured in the windows, displays that would tempt any dieter
to stray from the path.
It is the Rheo Thompson candy shop located at 26
Brunswick Street in Stratford, which is popular with local
people and tourists alike.
Rheo Thompson first got started in the candy business in
1959 when he was 16 years old. He worked part-time in the
kitchen of Olin Brown Candies in Stratford.
He started full-time in the store when he was 18 and stayed
until he was 24. Then he left and went looking for a place to
start a candy shop of his own. He tried Ottawa, London,
Oakville, Toronto, and Niagara Falls.
"I found the best place was right here in the city of
Stratford," Mr. Thompson said.
Before getting a place of his own, Mr. Thompson worked
for a local construction company and the Chris Craft boat
factory but his mind was still on the candy business.
His brother who lived in Boston bought him some
equipment from a dealer who sold used candy equipment. He
got a natural gas stove, a copper kettle and a thermometer,
things which Mr. Thompson is still using in his shop today.
Mr. Thompson first sold his candy at the Farmer's Market
located on the fairgrounds in Stratford. He rented a 3' x 3'
space for 50 cents. Since the market started at 7 a.m. he had
to get up at 6 a.m. to Toad the car and set up his display where
they managed to sell all the candies they could make. They
had about 12 varieties of candy at that time which is about all
they could have since they didn't have very much room.
He later made a deal with Sinclair Pharmacy in Stratford in
which he could make candy in the basement of their store plus
have 12 feet of space on the main floor for his own retail
outlet. His rent was a percentage of the sales with a maximum
of $400 and no minimum and with the pharmacy paying all the
utilities. Today. Sinclair Pharmacy is the only other retail
outlet of Rheo Thompson candies in Stratford.
Mr. Thompson opened at Sinclair Pharmacy in March of
1970 but ran out of room for the manufacturing and storage of
his products and he did not have sufficient space in the retail
counter for all his products so he started looking for a new
Jean Reed and Rheo Thompson give finishing touches to some boxes of candy. Three-quarters of Rheo
Thompson candy is sold through their store.
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JUNE 1977, 11.