BURLINGAME (KCBS RADIO) – Several businesses on Broadway in Burlingame didn't survive the pandemic, but one long time candy store is hanging on thanks to some volunteers, some marketing, and a quality product.
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Step inside Preston's Candies and Ice Cream and there's a sense of simpler times. Owner Irene Preston welcomes customers as they walk in while Javier Santiago cooks marshmallows to perfection in a big copper pot. Between rocky road, peanut brittle, and an assortment of other delicious treats, it's no secret why the store has been a staple of the Peninsula community the past 75 years.
However, there's no sugarcoating the reality of the past two years.
"We got hit pretty hard because of COVID," Preston told KCBS Radio.
Profits evaporated at Preston's during the COVID-19 pandemic as foot traffic, the main source of revenue for the business, became virtually non-existent.
The beloved store's fortunes were turned when Ben Lambright, a writer who also runs an educational non-profit, recently moved to the neighborhood from New York and offered to help save the business.
He originally suggested creating a GoFundMe, but Preston declined.
"She was only interested and remains only interested in making great chocolates, selling as much of them as she can to keep this going," Lambright told KCBS Radio.
Instead, Lambright organized a rescue box campaign. The store has begun selling boxes of confections, priced at $36.40 each. The results have been greater than Lambright ever imagined.
"I jokingly told her we would sell 1,000 worth of them. And now we are seriously almost to selling 1,000 of them," he said.
The rescue boxes have provided that serious infusion of cash to pay down some of the debt. Lambright also created a subscription service for candy orders called "Preston's Forever" which he hopes can stabilize the store's income.
In addition, with more people out and about, old customers have started to return to the store.
"I've had customers coming in that I haven't seen in 3 years," Preston said.
Thanks to Lambright, Preston now also has a website so people don’t have to visit the store in person to taste the sugary treats. Check out the sweet offerings at prestoncandys.com.
Preston's is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1170 Broadway Ave. in Burlingame.
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