Whenever I have to do icebreakers nowadays, my fun fact is consistently, “My mom owns a candy store and my dad owns a toy store.” My peers eat it up every time. You really can’t get any cooler than that. The process hasn’t just been all sunshine and lollipops, though. Living in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania can sound quaint and storybook-esque to my cityslicker college friends, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Small town atmosphere can bring plenty of small minded values.
We opened on July 1 of 2023. My dad’s store had been open for a while, based on his hobby of buying and selling collectibles during the COVID-19 pandemic. After its success, my parents decided to pursue a long-time dream of my mom’s and open The Joy of Sweets and Treats. The name was inspired by her own — Joy. After searching for other open properties on Main Street, we found a shop two stores down from my dad’s. We basically built the inside from the ground up, prepping the whole summer. Opening week I was in the store for 10-hour days, racing against the clock to finish enough coats of paint on the walls.
The community response was initially… mixed. During the planning process, people were thrilled! Mount Joy had been wanting a candy store for a while, and people loved my dad. It seemed like a perfect storm. Opening day was fantastic, and I remember rubbing elbows with people in town who now would never dare show their face near our doors. Local leaders came to browse product, local churches donated money, and I recall a very nice local business owner who personally delivered a gift basket. It felt like we were being embraced into the Mount Joy small business culture, and we were on cloud nine.
The first few months were slow financially, but we were having fun with it, which felt like all that mattered. We weren’t doing this for the money; we were doing it for the community and, more importantly, my mom. While we may have some more expensive items, it’s because of the small businesses that we source candy from. My mom’s vision has always consisted of unique products, things that you can’t just find at the local grocery store.
The real issues came up when I started working the register, though. I’ve always been pretty open in my identity as a queer person, and my appearance tends to display this. With my short haircut and piercings, I can get weird looks from many in town. This, paired with the Pride Candy we carry in store, (a hard, rainbow candy in different fruity flavors) pushed a subsection over the edge.
A month or so after we opened we noticed an influx of bad reviews online. After closer examination, not only did most of the people commenting not even live in Mount Joy, let alone had ever stepped foot in the store, the critiques were of my appearance and “attitude” rather than the store. My dad ended up discovering a Facebook post going around from a disgruntled woman who had visited. She claimed that the environment was cold, and I was moody and unhelpful. I don’t claim to be perfect, but considering the hateful rhetoric I remember the comments slipping into, I doubt my demeanor was the actual problem. The rest of her post whipped her followers into a frenzy, calling them to “support” her in giving the store negative press.
Others did try to attack the business itself, I assume for some type of credibility. They critiqued the amount of product we had, and, of course, the prices. As a fledgling business, we were open to criticism! But review-bombing our public Google page gives us little room to grow. It became very discouraging, very fast. It was hard to believe that the community that had been so supportive at first could change their tune so quickly. My mom was distraught, seeing her dream torn to pieces right in front of her eyes. I remember a conversation we had in the middle of it all; “I don’t think the store is going to last the year,” she confessed. It’s hard to see my mom in such a state, and I was at a loss on how to comfort her. My feelings were murky and hard to pinpoint, a mix of guilt, sadness, and a strange, horrific sense of being seen in a way I couldn’t control. I felt flayed open, and I had never wanted to be invisible more.
One emotion I could clearly identify, though, was rage. I wanted to track these people down. I wanted to leave hate comments on their ancient Facebook profiles. I wanted revenge. And I kind of got it. I put my energy into mobilizing my friends to fill our Google with positive reviews this time. We were able to report most of the spam comments, too, and get them taken down.
This type of stupidity hasn’t stopped in Mount Joy. Sometimes I’ll see people walk up to the door, make eye contact with me, and turn tail. Others get inside, end up rearranging all the products, then turn up their nose and leave. It’s frustrating, but I’ve worked in retail for long enough to know I can’t get into it with every bigot who visits.
These types of attitudes have only made our current bonds stronger. We’ve formed a great relationship with local queer-owned businesses and organizations. It feels good to know that local queer kids feel like the store can be a safe space. The next town over has an organization that raises money for local Gay Straight Alliances, and we recently have connected with them to promote events. My mom has plenty of our regulars’ tastes memorized, knowing the best new items to recommend each time they stop in. A recent favorite memory has been the summer workshops we’ve been hosting for a local church. A group of 15 or so children will come in, and we’ll give them the history of candy, or teach them how to freeze dry. While we may have lost some of the support we first felt in the town, what we’ve created now feels much more genuine.
We’ve now officially lasted a year, putting my mom’s doubts (mostly) to rest. My life has irrevocably changed since we opened the store. It’s not a fun feeling to get sucked into the middle of a hate mob, but I’ve found it’s made me much stronger as a person. While all of us are still definitely affected by people’s words, they’ve become easier to ignore. Like with any business, there’s highs and lows, but that’s what makes it so rewarding. Having true friends and support is what matters most at the end of the day, and has truly been the sweetest part of working here. If you would like to join this community, you can follow us for more updates on our website and Facebook!