Valentine's Day: Doylestown Candy Store Ready For the Rush

DOYLESTOWN, PA — With Valentine’s Day just hours away, the rush is on to the local candy store to pick up a box of chocolaty goodness.

But why a box of chocolate?

Maybe it’s the scientific explanation that cocoa beans contains tryptophan and phenylethylamine, two chemicals associated with improved mood and happiness. Or maybe it’s something more than that - a heart-felt gesture that in its sweetest and simplest form says, “I love you,” to the fortunate recipient.

Whatever the reason, there’s no escaping the fact that Monday and Tuesday will be hugely busy days at chocolate shops across the nation.

At Raymer’s Candies at 21 East Oakland Street in Doylestown, they’re ready for the two most intense sales days of the year.

“Christmas is busier because the season is longer, but Valentine’s Day and the day before Valentine’s Day are probably the busiest two days of the year,” said Sue Raymer, who opened the store with her husband, Mark, a little more than two decades ago. “We typically see a line of men out the door.”

A heart-shaped box made entirely of chocolate. (Raymer's Candies)

For many, Valentines Day is about traditions. And at Raymer’s, it’s no different.

“We have several older gentlemen who have come in with the same heart-shaped boxes for years. They know exactly what their wife likes or their daughters,” she said. “We have a lot of grandpas who come in and pick up a heart for their grandchildren. And we have one gentleman who buys all the women in his life - nieces, granddaughters, daughters and wife - a heart every year. He probably leaves the store with 15 to 18 hearts,” she said. “That’s his tradition.

“Usually the tradition is buying the pretty heart and filling it with whatever they happen to like. And most gentlemen who come in know what their wives like,” said Sue.

One of its more unique Valentine’s Day offerings is a heart-shaped box made entirely of chocolate.

“We fill it with chocolate. We wrap it in cellophane and tie it with a big red bow. The whole thing is edible (with the exception of the cellophane and now). You eat the chocolates inside and then you eat the box,” said Sue.

“We also dip wine bottles,” adds Sue. “We can’t sell you the wine, but if you bring your wine bottle in we can dip it in chocolate,” she said. “That idea was from a customer who came in about 10 or 12 years ago. We now do thousands a year.”

According to Sue, they start by attaching a sturdy ribbon to the bottom of bottle and running it up the side. The bottle is then covered in Saran Wrap, dipped in chocolate and decorated.

“When you pull that ribbon away from the bottle it also pulls the Saran Wrap off and the chocolate breaks into little pieces. Your bottle is clean and you have chocolate with your wine,” she said.

Other popular sellers are its chocolate dipped caramel apples sprinkled with red and pink edible hearts and its hugely popular chocolate covered strawberries done in white, dark and milk chocolate. “They are freshly-dipped every day,” said Sue.

Caramel apples are a popular choice at Raymer's Candies. (Raymer's Candies)

They will also be selling their popular heart-shaped peanut butter meltaways and chocolate covered cherries - “the gooey, drippy kind that come down your chin when you bite into them.”

Most of the candies in the store were developed and made by Sue’s husband, Mark, with one notable exception.

It’s popular caramel recipe dates back centuries, brought to this country from Germany by the Hope family who opened a candy store in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in the late 1800s.

Sue’s father, Royal Brazier, a candymaker in Wisconsin, began working for Hope’s Candies when he was 12. He later bought the business, making candy for the next 60 years for the people of Fond du Lac.

Her father taught Mark the candy making business and Sue and Mark eventually took over the business when he retired and renamed it Raymer’s.

The couple eventually moved east to Doylestown in 2001 to be closer to their children, who were both living on the East Coast. Not long after that they opened Raymer’s Candies on Oakland Street.

“We bought our first piece of machinery the day before 9-11,” said Sue. “That was a little scary, but we continued on and here we are. Doylestown is the perfect place to have a candy store. The customers are wonderful. They support the downtown. The town is easy to work with. It’s just a great place.”

Plans are in the works for its first major expansion since opening the business in November 2001. The family has bought the former offices of the Bucks County Area on Aging across the street and will be relocating there operations sometime this year.

Raymer's Candies will be moving to 30 East Oakland Avenue this year. (Raymer's Candies)

The move will allow the business to bring its candy-making operations back to Doylestown. Due to the growth of the business, the shop was forced to move its candy-making to Telford a decade ago.

“When we originally opened we made the candy in the candy store,” said Sue. “We ran out of room. So we looked around and found a warehouse type of building where we could make the chocolate. That has been a little straining because you have to bring the chocolate in every day.”

Inside their future home at 30 East Oakland Avenue, the candy-making operation will be located downstairs with the retail store on the main floor on Oakland Avenue and plenty of room for storage upstairs.

“Right now we are operating out of 2,000 square feet. We will have 3,000 square feet on each floor of our new location,” said Sue. “It is being remodeled and should be ready to go soon. It will be so nice.”