OAKHURST – Everyone is busy inside the new Reimer’s Candies & Gifts in Oakhurst, as preparations are underway to fill the newly remodeled space with goodies and open in the next few weeks.
For more than 50 years, Reimer’s has been hand-crafting sweet treats at the little red candy factory in Three Rivers, Ca., and more recently at their second store in Avila Beach. Now owners Lynn and Mary Ann Bretz are bringing their old-fashioned candy store and ice cream shop to the mountain area.“Most of the inventory is made in the Three Rivers store at this point,” says Lynn Bretz. “So today, they’re making ice cream and chocolates for our Oakhurst shop.”
Reimer’s Candies & Gifts in Three Rivers includes an old-fashioned candy shop where you can peek through the windows and see them making their delicious confections. While the more complex candies like butter crèmes and clusters will still be made in their flagship location and shipped to Oakhurst, Reimer’s always makes their own waffle cones on site, and offers more than two dozen of their own original ice cream flavors, made from locally grown wild blackberries, peaches and nuts, and fresh cream.
They also feature over 80 varieties of chocolates, plus a large selection of candies, including licorice, chews, sours and homemade peanut brittle.
The Oakhurst location will be a somewhat smaller version of the store in Three Rivers, but the owners are open to the possibilty of expanding when they see how things progress with this latest venture.
Only about half of the available space will be utilized initially, and the Bretz’s are in search of a suitable tenant for the other portion of the building.
“We’re looking to lease the other space to a business that will compliment what we do,” says Bretz. “Maybe a wine shop, souvenirs, or a bookstore. We do sell a lot of gifts and souvenirs in our Three Rivers Store, so if we don’t find a suitable lessor, we’ll set if up for ourselves.”
Bretz says they plan to open in a couple weeks, as soon as they get their team in place.
“We have hired two staff persons already, and are looking for several more,” says Bretz, who invites interested prospective employees to stop in and fill out an application.
“We’ll be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week to start,” says Bretz. “We will expand our hours in the summer and on weekends, and then we’ll see what the demand is and make adjustments if necessary.”
The Bretz’s have been working hard this past year, totally remodeling the inside of the 6,000 sq. ft. space, replacing the roof and repainting the outside with their signature shade of red with white trim.
It’s been a long road finding a location in Oakhurst that would perfectly suit their unique needs. It took about four years to find just the right property, and they closed on their new building in February of 2012.
Going through the permitting process took longer than they had anticipated, so their goal of opening before the holidays didn’t pan out. But they will be just in time for the busy summer season, and will open their doors just about the time Mountain Candies closes theirs.
Lynn Bretz is very proud of the fact that Reimer’s has been thriving in Three Rivers for 50 years, and since they took over eight years ago, they’ve been able to expand the business.
“Our customers know us and we know them,” says Bretz. “We are very appeciative of both our customers and our local communities.”
Reimer’s Candies & Gifts is located in Oakhurst at 41969 Highway 41, just north of El Cid.
You can visit their website at http://www.reimerscandies.com/home.html
Looking forward to your opening here in Oakhurst. We have to your store in Three Rivers several times through the years as we lived in Visalia than. Than we was at Avila and went there. Delicious candy my favorite is your English Toffee. Welcome to Oakhurst the gateway to Yosemite.