Tour of SugaRush in Lower Sackville

I could not believe it! One day I was leaving my library and spotted across the street at 619 Sackville Drive a candy store. It had appeared while I was in Toronto and it is called… SugaRush!

They apparently have the best slushies in Sackville. So of course, I had to go inside.

I was greeted by the scent of candy and popcorn! If you are a kid at heart, this is such an exciting place to walk into. It smells of treats and took me right back to my childhood. In fact, I got a tad visually overwhelmed, there was so much to see. To explore!

I knew I was in the right place when I saw McCraw’s original recipe Taffy, now that is classic. Been made the same way for over 100 years!

Pink Candy Popcorn? Immediately I was taken back to my childhood where at some birthday parties you would get to have a box of this sweet popcorn treat all to yourself.

I was checking out the choice of slushies when I spotted a Maritime classic… BEEP!

I asked Haley Schmuland, the manager of SugaRush, how that flavour choice came about?

Our customers asked us to bring them in! We are very open to trying products our customer request, we have a chalkboard where we invite customers to write candy they’re looking for so we can see if we can help! The Beep slushie was a much sought after treat, especially on social media, and it hasn’t been disappointing!

I discovered that this is SugaRush’s first location and opened on June 3, 2013. Haley said, “The owners have lived in Sackville for over 15 years, they know the people here, they love it here, and Sackville had nothing like SugaRush, it all worked together to be the perfect location!”

I am loving it too! Especially since they sell Pop Shoppe pop… in cans no less! This is the only pop I love and I am crazy nostalgic for it. I even have one of their t-shirts! I kind of freaked out when I saw they had banana pop. Apparently that one is popular in the States. I so have to try it.

I was curious about what the inspiration was behind the opening of the store. Haley responded:

The owner loved sweets as a child (hard to find a kid who doesn’t!) but growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan didn’t get candy all that much. So when he grew up, he started working in the confectionary industry and has been at it for over 20 years and knows more about candy then you can shake a stick at. He knows what candy people like, and the best people to get it from, and decided why not try a retail store in Sackville? Have a question about what candy you can get? Don’t hesitate to ask when we have the guy who can answer most candy questions!!

I absolutely have to ask him about CurlyWurly then. I remember the packaging very differently and want to see if I am right that it used to have a cowboy theme. I also want some! My favourite candy bar ever.

I was very curious about the customers who shopped there. Were they like me? Super nostalgic and a bit of a heathen when it comes to treats or just kids getting a “sugar rush?”

Right now, we have a lot of families where one parent or the a grandparent will bring the children in. However, we have lots of adults come in solo looking for candy to take them back and remind them of their childhood! We’ve had customers from a three-day old to those who have seen many more than three days in their life!

Another question I just had to ask was about the biggest sellers in the store. There are so many to choose from so I asked Haley to mention the top five:

Oooh! It’s hard to only pick 5! There are so many things to pick from!! If you asked a different staff member, they may give a different answer but I would say:
1. Old Fashioned Taffy
2. Sour Soothers
3. Chocolate Yummies
4. Sour Flush Toilet Candy
5. Pop Shoppe Pop (In Cans)

Sour Flush Toilet Candy?! OMG, that is a new one to me! And doesn’t seem that appetizer but is hillll-arious!

I decided to get personal and ask Haley about her favourite candy:

I am a choco-holic and love trying all our unique chocolate bars. Today my favourite is the White Chocolate Kit Kat! It’s so delicious but I’m trying to sample all the chocolate bars, so I may have a different answer next week 🙂

I would be the same way, rotating and trying and comparing… Sad to say, I did not buy any candy on this trip. I was out for a long walk on a hot day and I did not want to ruin the candy. That said, I will be back with Reg and soon because the Beep slushie is only available for a limited time.

I may just have to pick up some Jelly Belly vent sticks too, so our car can small like Caramel Apple or Bubble Gum. Seriously, this store has everything yummy, sticky, silly and tasty when it comes to candy. It was so much fun to visit and I am going back SOON!