by Elise Van Dam
Forrest Gump is known for the line, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get,” but at Spokandy Chocolatier in downtown Spokane (1412 W. 3rd Avenue), customers know they are going to get great, quality chocolate as well as wonderful customer service.
Spokandy opened its doors in 1913. The business, originally opened by Terrence J. Riley, stayed in the family name until 1965. Throughout the years it was sold to various owners until 1991 when Todd Davis, the current owner, took over the shop.
“I love the chocolate industry,” Davis said. “And I wanted to get into business.”
The candy shop currently sells 75 percent of their products wholesale, Davis said. Its wholesale customer base is comprised of airports across the United States, including the Spokane International Airport, and other businesses such as Hudson News and Publishers Clearing House.
Spokandy has been using the same recipes for 100 years and sells a wide variety of chocolates, dinner mints, toffee, sugar free options, assorted chocolate boxes, truffles and chocolate that is molded into different shapes.
Its top selling products are the Murphy, the toffee and the pecan caramel patties. The Murphy is the oldest and number-one-selling product at the candy shop. It consists of a vanilla whipped center that is dipped in milk chocolate and then rolled in toasted coconut.
“I like the novelty of the small candy shop,” Alex Leuchars, customer and Whitworth senior said. “It is good quality candy and you can get different products that you could not find elsewhere, like huckleberry chocolate bars.”
This past week was my first visit to Spokandy. The candy shop had a vintage feel that reminded me of the candy shop from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” The employees were knowledgeable on the products they sold and helped me pick out different chocolates.
The Murphy, a chocolate covered peanut log, and a dark chocolate covered salted caramel were both creamy, sweet, and of good quality. Even though marshmallow is not my favorite, after one bite of the Murphy I was hooked. The mix of the crunchy texture of the outside with the fluffy and light texture of the inside made for a great chocolate. I would recommend Spokandy to anyone who wants to help local businesses and try some great quality chocolate.
evandam13@my.whitworth.edu