For sale: Will sun set on Sunny Jim’s?
LOVELAND — One could measure Sunny Jim’s output in tons, but a better measure might be in satisfaction. Soon, all that will come to an end unless a buyer with a sweet tooth is found for the iconic Loveland candy store at 5431 W. U.S. Highway 34 west of Loveland.
Ida Suppes, owner of Sunny Jim’s Candy Ranch, will sell the business and related real estate to, she hopes, someone who will continue on. She and her family have prepared the sweet and savory delicacies for 33 years; the store itself has been around for 57 years.
The display cases inside the brightly colored candy store on the north side of U.S. 34 provide a visual as well as an olfactory delight.
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There are caramel and chocolate-covered pecans that Sunny Jim’s calls Rocky Mountain Frogs (not to be confused with Turtles), hot and sweet nut snacks, dark cherry cordials, chocolate-covered caramels, almond bark, chocolate-covered Rice Krispy treats, butter toffee almonds, Old English toffee candies at Christmas, to name just a few. The all-time favorite: Cinnamon Chews.
“People just like them,” Suppes said.
“I want to sell to someone who wants to make candy. I’ll show them how to do it,” she told BizWest.
She had found a buyer and was preparing to close the deal, but it fell through a couple of days ago, she said. Some of the investors pulled out, leaving those wanting to buy without the resources to handle the deal.
River Rock Real Estate has the property listed for $647,777. It includes the business, the building, a mobile home and a garage all on the same property.
Suppes, who is “almost 75,” said it’s time for retirement. She isn’t sure what she’ll do except spend more time seeing relatives in the region.
The staff of four, all family members, have been stirring up their confections for a lot of years. They received the recipes with the business when they bought it, and they’ve added a few of their own over the years. The new owner will inherit all of those.
Suppes said her clientele includes both tourists making the trek up Big Thompson Canyon and local residents — some of whom have been customers for all 33 years of operation.
Suppes has faced headwinds over the years, including the 2013 flood that affected the residence behind the store more than the store itself, she said. A sale now would permit Suppes to go out on top.
“Last year was one of the best years,” she said. Because the operation has a U-Haul franchise attached, it was considered essential and was not closed down in the early part of the pandemic. She said Sunny Jim’s was one of a few candy stores in the state that continued to operate in-person business. And pandemic or not, attraction to sweets continued unabated.Information about the property can be found here.
