New candy store moves into town
By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor
Miriam Ostermann Photo
Maybe it was the exhaustion from putting in 20-hour days, or possibly the many weeks of tackling small roadblocks, or just maybe it was the response he received from the Strathmore community – an overwhelming outpour of support to suggest a promising future for the coveted enterprise.
“I started getting teary because I was so blown away with how supportive people are,” Vandenberg recalled. “There’s so many things you can do in so many communities and nobody cares. They want to complain. This community has been fabulous. The kids have been fabulously well behaved, young and old, and that keeps me going.”
Vandenberg and his wife Masami are no strangers to business. Combined, the couple amass six decades of business experience, including the successful management of Calgary’s first Kinjo Sushi and Grill restaurant, and running businesses ranging from top-tier jewelry stores, to a souvenir warehouse, to working as a sales representative in the oil and gas industry.
Then, four years ago, Vandenberg was hit by a car as he crossed a T-intersection in Calgary. Upon impact, the entrepreneur was thrown into the air, causing his tailbone to shatter, smashing his back and twisting his knee as he landed on the ground. With a pregnant wife at home and extensive rehab, the family decided it was time to move into a different direction; one of owning a family business one day.
That day arrived late last month, after much research and some luck brought him to Strathmore where the stars aligned, and brought the candy store, which had always been at the back of his mind, to fruition.
“We started a business not knowing what to expect and there’s been such an amazing response,” he said.
“I had looked at Calgary and surrounding areas and I’m thinking, ‘well, where else?’ Because of population it never dawned on me to think about a smaller population centre. That night I went home I went on Kijiji and space for lease in Strathmore came up. Next day I came out, looked at the space and thought this is going to be it.”
Leading up to that moment, Vandenberg had done extensive research. He attended candy shows in Chicago, and went on a fact-finding mission about candy stores in nearby communities – such as Vulcan and Nanton. His research helped him create a checklist: the community must not have a current candy store, not too many box stores and a decent overhead. Strathmore checked off all the boxes.
Located in the Leary Centre, the space is decorated in bright colours, vintage signs, walls covered with bulk candy, and an assortment of specialty items from Canada, the United States and Europe.
The Calgary-raised Vandenberg was introduced to business at the age of three when he visited his father at the Birks jewelry store. Although he studied criminology at Mount Royal College, he ventured back into business in the 1980s. His experience helped him understand the needs of today’s generation – mixing the old with the new.
“The kids are big into the new, the most sour, the most weird, the worms, the scorpion suckers, but we’re also trying to teach them a bit of history too, the stuff they didn’t know existed like Chicken Bones, old fashion clove candy, humbugs and ribbon candy,” he said.
“Everybody grew up on these, it’s been a holiday tradition for a century. But it’s been harder and harder to find them because all these big manufacturers are going out of business. I cannot accept, thinking of a memory as a kid, not having a candy store in the town or city I grew up in.”
The store officially opened its doors on Nov. 25 and has since seen an influx of customers – often attracting up to 80 junior and senior high school students at lunch time.
Vandenberg isn’t slowing down. He continues to bring in new items, including a recent purchase of very large greeting cards, and plans to set up a Slurpee machine, cinnamon donuts, slush puppies, cotton candy and ice cream – presuming the breaker won’t burst.
Tasty Candy Soda & Ice Cream is located at 104 3rd Ave.