Have you ever heard of a candy shop owner who doesn’t like candy? Well that’s the case with local Pleasantville candy shop owner Annette Colasuonno. “I don’t like it too much. I like the creativity of it, but I’m not a sweet eater. I think it’s because I’ve been in the business so long that I really don’t eat a lot of sweets” after being in business now for thirty three years. It was the perfect plan for a mother of two children as her shop was open during the school day and closed during her children’s vacation time. I wondered how does one makes their money selling goodies. Annette responded “ a gentlemen who I met in one of the shows told me the only way to make money in the chocolate business is to make novelties. So I started making novelties and that’s where I really started making more money for the store”. Her best selling products are the novelties made for the holidays such as the alphabet letters, Christmas trees, sports and other unique designs. As well as her truffles, which are best known as the perfect party favor.
To have a successful business one must have a loyal customer base and that’s just what Lil’ Chocolate Shoppe has. People trickle in for little gifts while young children buy little treats after school. The customer base ranges from children from fourth to eighth grade and from the ages of eighteen to thirty five. Her chocolate is well know for the high quality and freshness as it is all made within the week. She can make an order within a day or two for any event. That’s the difference between local shops and mass produced products. Business really picks up during the holidays, specifically Christmas as it the longest and busiest season. It starts right before Thanksgiving and goes all the way until New Years.
Annette lives a simple life with a simple diet. She loves to walk, exercise and spend time with her grandchildren. They remind her of her daughters who are her proudest accomplishment in life as they are very active and bright. She loves her shop and so do all the people who’ve ever entered or worked there. One of her long time colleagues says “ It’s been a fabulous experience. It’s almost not like a job. She a wonderful boss. It’s very easy. The customers we have for the majority are lovely people. The kids are great. It’s a joy to come to work and be here. It’s fun!”, which is all anyone could really ever ask for. The outlook Annette has on life is that “ If you treat your job as entertainment you don’t find it to be so difficult. When you don’t treat it as entertainment it becomes very difficult.” and I couldn’t agree more.
If you’re ever in Pleasantville make sure to stop at Lil’ Chocolate Shoppe, 15 Washington Ave. Pleasantville, N.Y. 10570 and say hi to Annette for me!