Seawards Candy prepares for holiday season

The holiday shopping season is in full swing. Most shoppers mob department stores and superstores, but the best treasures are found in specialty shops.  Don't think so? Visit Seaward Candies on Main Street in Brockport and you'll become a believer.

"Our specialty is pure milk chocolate," Chad Engert, owner of Seaward Candies said. "We don't use artificial flavors, it has no preservatives and it's made with vanilla."

Engert, a Holley, N.Y. native, said he bought his first third of Seaward Candies — founded by Donna Seaward in 1976 — 10 years ago.

"I bought the (Seaward) family out, but lease from the family and still use all of the family recipes," Engert said.

Seaward Candies has two shops — one in Brockport and one in Holley. The Holley store, which is the original Seaward's, is an addition to the Seaward home. Engert said the Brockport store does better business because it's set in a college town in a downtown business district.

"We make everything [in Holley]," Engert said. "Brockport is mainly retailing."

Not only is Seaward's a great place to find specialty candies, but it's also a great place to find a job not far from campus.

Engert said half of the people he has employed in the past 10 years have been Brockport students.

"We love college kids," Engert said. "They keep us afloat."

While Seaward's has a reputation for being student-friendly, the store also has a reputation for its sponge candy. What exactly is sponge candy? This delectable tidbit consists of a chocolate outer layer with a center tasting like caramelized sugar and molasses. It's crisp at first, then melts in your mouth.

Engert said Seaward's tends to sell a lot of sponge candy because it's a local thing.

"The homemade stuff isn't that easy to find and is very difficult to make," he said.

Another special treat around the holidays is the 3-foot, 25-pound milk chocolate Santa Claus Seaward's is raffling off to a lucky winner. While the structure is hollow, it's also decorated with nonpareils, totaling a whopping 50,000 calories. It retails for $249.99.

"Every year we give away a giant Easter bunny, but the past two years we've done the giant Santa giveaway," Engert said.

With Seaward's 10th anniversary approaching in January, Engert said there are no plans to celebrate specifically, but who needs a sale when Seaward's fairly-priced candies are available year-round?

For $2.49, you can get six caramel-filled milk chocolates and for $1.25, why not personalize a Christmas gift by topping it with a milk chocolate letter to match the recipient's name?