Whether it’s gummy or chocolate, there’s only one place in town to get all of your favorites, and that’s Henry’s Candy Co. at 243 High Street in downtown Hamilton.
As soon as you walk through the door, you’re met with a bright, colorful array of paintings and other whimsical displays. Just beyond, you can see the candy counter. Henry’s offers a wide variety of candy ranging from chocolate covered coffee beans to pink grapefruit flavored gummy bears – and everything in between to satisfy any raging sweet tooth.
Henry’s Candy Co. was opened on July 4th of 2017 by Mia Farquis and her husband, Tony, and it has been going strong ever since. It didn’t take long for the rest of the Farquis family to join in on the fun, but the family ties don’t end with the staff. The Farquis’ are solidly ingrained into the business, right down to the very name.
The name “Henry’s Candy Co.” stands as a loving tribute to not only the couples’ two children, Christian and Coco, but also to another son, Henry.
“We had a son who passed away, and he would be nine in September,” Mia said. “This is a way to keep him part of our life and part of our family.”
Day to day life has shown this to be true, according to Christian. “We get to say his name every day.”
Christian, the oldest child and son, is responsible for all the paintings and other artistic works that are scattered throughout the interior of the store.
“It’s been such a crazy project because as a creative person, I tend to overthink things,” Christian said. “In any other retail space that’s not a candy store, I think I’d have a lot of problems.”
Although he is primarily located in New York City at the moment, he has discussed moving home to Hamilton permanently to join in the family business.
“No other town has the character that Hamilton does,” Christian said with a smile.
Aside from being passionate business owners, Mia and Tony also both hold down full time jobs outside of Henry’s. During the week, Mia can be found in the classroom at Bridgeport Elementary nurturing the minds of today’s youth, and Tony owns a Subway store out in Ross.
Henry’s employee, Taylor Benge, also works for Tony at Subway, and right away she could tell a difference in the types of environments.
“I love the people that come in,” Taylor said. “They have great attitudes about everything and they are so understanding.”
Taylor said she enjoys getting to know the customers more in depth while at Henry’s.
The community has responded mutually, according to a satisfied customer, Michael, who made a stop at Henry’s while on a father-daughter date.
“I would imagine it would be a tough niche, but I think it’s part of the diversity of growth in Hamilton,” Michael said. “We have the luxury of having a store with just candy in it and it looks cool.”
With both owners having jobs that are high pressure and fast paced, it is no surprise that the environment of Henry’s is both calm and carefree.
“I feel so blessed,” said Mia. “Everyone has been so supportive and gracious.” Christian agreed, saying “It is so amazing to have a business where people are just happy.”
The future of Henry’s is looking very bright, and there are several exciting new things on its horizon. The Farquis’ have looked at introducing pre-packaged themed baskets, such as the ‘everything bagel’ made up of a little bit of everything for the adventurous types, and for the cooler cucumbers, themes like a nice peanut butter basket.
The discussion of bringing the store online has also been tossed around, as well as possibly incorporating deliveries to local businesses. However, the biggest goal on the Farquis’ radar is a possible expansion to a second store in the Oxford area.
Henry’s has filled a spot in Hamilton that nobody knew was missing until it wasn’t.
“I think Hamilton is such a gem and I want to help make memories,” Mia said. “I hope that when children are my age, they can look back and tell their children about going to the candy store when they were young.”
“We don’t pretend that candy is healthy for you,” said Christian. But just to set the record straight, the gummy bears are gluten free!