Sweet Pete’s is a familiar name to Jacksonville natives. It belongs to a local candy shop that has been making tasty treats using natural ingredients for many years. Last month, Sweet Pete’s moved to a gorgeous new location, the former Seminole Club in downtown Jacksonville. (The company is backed by Marcus Lemonis of The Profit on CNBC. He bought the building last summer and funded a massive renovation of the historical building. I thought that was a cool little piece of info!) In addition to selling sweets, the new location has an event center, party rooms available for rental, factory tours, and a full service restaurant.
The best part of the move (in my opinion) is that Sweet Pete’s is sharing the building with a new restaurant, The Candy Apple Cafe. When we heard about a beautifully restored and whimsically decorated old building with rooms full of chocolate AND delicious food, my girlfriends and I had to try it! My friend Becky got married last month, so we were eager to get together and hear all the details of her big day. The Candy Apple Cafe was the perfect backdrop for our lunch. We sat on the porch and laughed (Becky is the best storyteller!) while enjoying a great meal. The food was French inspired but had an obvious comfort food spin. After we ate and caught up on life, we took a little tour of the building and drooled over the gorgeous candy displays.
Sweet Pete’s has been doing candy demos and classes for years, but the new building also has a glass-enclosed production area, so you can watch the candy being made – very Willie Wonka! I think it would be fun to take a candy making class with a group of friends or even a few couples! You can see a list of classes they offer here.
Have you tried the new Sweet Pete’s yet? Or the Candy Apple Cafe? If so, I’d love to know what you thought!
PS – This is one of the few times that I wished I had a wide-angle lens on my camera. I couldn’t get a good picture of the entire building, even from across the street. It’s huge!