This is a very significant time of year for candy lovers. Valentine’s Day is in the rearview mirror and Easter is quickly coming into focus. Last week, Kehr’s Candies, which has operated a store in Milwaukee Public Market (400 N. Water St.) for 18 years, announced its plans to close that location (the last day is Feb. 29). The owners say they’ll focus on online sales, and, eventually, have pop-up locations.
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Now it’s been confirmed that their vacated spot will stay sweet. Freese’s Candy Shoppe is taking it over. The candy maker has been a fixture on Greenfield Avenue in West Allis since 1928. The public market space will be their second location. Their best-known products include fairy food, pecan turtles and mint meltaways. They also make roasted nuts.
Wendy and Mike Matel bought the business in 1995. Wendy started working there at age 16. Learn more about this family business in this Milwaukee Magazine story from 2017.
“This is the start of an exciting new chapter for our family and the Freese’s business,” said Wendy, in a press release. “We take great pride in our handmade products, and our roots in the candy making industry go back nearly a century. We’re thrilled to have our offerings included alongside the impressive lineup of vendors at the bustling Milwaukee Public Market.”
Kehr’s, too, is a longstanding Milwaukee business – founded in 1930. You can read more about Kehr’s in this story I wrote in 2018.
