Old-fashion tradition packs wallop at this candy store

Public Record, The, Mar 01, 2005 by Davis, Rick

On a typical February day, customers of all sizes, shapes and inclinations mosey into Fred and Susie Heminger's downtown Palm Springs candy store.

For some, a sense of curiosity has coaxed them through the door of this cozy, old-fashioned establishment on South Palm Canyon Drive. For others, it's the can't-go-wrong appeal of being handed free samples of homemade candy.

For many though, it's a case of giving in to the urge to satisfy a sweet tooth. And Heminger's Fudge and Chocolates is a great place to indulge in caloric decadence.

Besides the featured product line of assorted varieties of oldfashioned fudge, the store offers hand-dipped chocolates and strawberries, handstretched brittles, toffees, truffles, dipped fruits and date shakes. Most of it is sold by the slice or the pound, but there also are gift baskets for customers who want variety.

"Our fudge is made in a traditional, oldfashioned way," says Fred Heminger. "Fudgemaking is about more than accurately measuring the finest ingredients, mixing them and cooking them at the right temperature. What it really is is an art form."

Both Fred and Susie have had years to work on perfection. Growing up, they worked in the same fudge store in their hometown of Harbor Springs, Mich. The town is about 25 miles from Mackinac Island, a historic landmark located at the northern end of Lake Michigan and considered to be the birthplace of fudge back in the 1800s.

Perhaps then it was destiny. Fred and Susie became childhood sweethearts who got married and went into the fudge business. At one time or another, they've owned seven fudge and chocolate stores, although the Palm Springs outlet is the only one currently owned.

In using a 110-year-old recipe to make a batch of fudge at his store, Heminger doggedly adhers to tradition. Ingredients are cooked for a specified time in a copper kettle, then poured in a syrupy state onto a marble table. Eventually, after considerable stirring and shaping, the fudge, now smooth and creamy with some crystallization, ends up in an elongated loaf. A batch weighs 26 pounds to 34 pounds.

Besides their most popular fudge - chocolate supreme - the store offers such variations as rocky road, butterscotch, cherry almond, chocolate turtle, chocolate mint, espresso and pumpkin pie/rum raisin/cranberry.

"I've taken the recipe I got as an apprentice years ago and tweaked it, perfected it," says Fred. "Mine is going to come out differently than someone using the same recipe. One reason is I refuse to use anything but the best ingredients."

Heminger said he opened the Palm Springs store 10 years ago after determining it was a prime location for his product line.

"We were offered more attractive rent terms on El Pasco [in Palm Desert]," recalls Fred. "But that area doesn't have the foot traffic, the number of mature, somewhat affluent tourist types who come to an area and linger. Downtown Palm Springs seems to have that."

"I like the variety of customers," says store manager Maria Panaiotova, a Bulgarian immigrant who has worked for the Herningers for eight years. "And it's just fun to sell fudge and chocolate to people."

Heminger said the store's walk-in business, which represents about 30 percent of overall volume, varies and not just because of the tourist season. It tends to boom on Thursdays when the VillageFest street fair brings more foot traffic to the downtown area. Valentine's Day and the Christmas holiday season also cause sales surges.

The Hemingers also have built up a brisk mail-order business with customers placing orders by accessing a Web site.

"We love what we're doing, but it's a business we do to make a living," said Fred. "We have competition, but only in the generic sense from other places that sell candy and confections. Going head-to-head with fudge, you can't beat me. Some think they can, but - pardon the expression - they're fudging."

Heminger said he's been contacted by large retailers about providing fudge products in volume amounts, out concluded it was not doable.

"If I got an order for 40,000 pounds of walnut fudge, I'd commit suicide," Fred said. "We're using a 100-year-old recipe to make a batch at a time with every step by hand," says Fred. "We're not a production house."

Heminger said he's frustrated by a feeling that his marketing needs an overhaul.

"It's lousy," he said. "With a small business, there are only so many hours in the day and you only have so much energy. We're living off what was done in past years in marketing. If we could improve that, we're looking at a 20 to 30 percent increase in sales."