Yahoo Finance ‘He's a sharp cookie’: new owner ready to reopen world's oldest sweet shop
A 24-year-old entrepreneur in the Yorkshire Dales is gearing up to reopen the doors of the world’s oldest sweet shop after becoming the new owner.
Ben Howie has taken over the Oldest Sweet Shop in the World, a Guinness World Record-holding tourist attraction in Pateley Bridge, but is yet to scoop a single pound of pear drops at the counter because of lockdown restrictions.
Howie will be manning the shop alone from 12 April, or as soon as non-essential shops are allowed to reopen, and he has had a seven-week crash course from the previous owners, Keith and Gloria Tordoff.
He said: “I remember it from my childhood, even though that wasn’t such a long time ago, and my mum remembers that from her childhood. We saw it and we just thought we can really grow this business into some kind of a heritage brand that is loved by everyone.”
Howie, who grew up in North Yorkshire and studied business management and marketing at Harper Adams, has started to build up the online side of the business, which has thrived during lockdown.
“I guess people are just seeking a bit of solace in sweets. It’s a kind of comfort blanket for a lot of people, and most people can afford half a pound of sweets at a pound or two,” he said. “And the enjoyment that one pound or two pounds gives them – it can remind them of their childhood, it can remind them of better times.”
He has had a steep learning curve when it comes to the products, as the rows and rows of vintage jars include sweets that Howie had never encountered before, from suppliers that are decades if not centuries old.
He said: “I’m learning all the time and obviously some of them predate myself. But the heritage behind each of those sweets is fascinating really. Probably one of our best sellers is the sweet peanut, which I find strange, but some of the older generations before me absolutely love them. It’s a boiled sweet in the shape of a peanut. Obviously, there are not many places that sell those kinds of sweets any more.
“Meanwhile, the younger customers all like to try the super sour fizz bombs. Anyone who can hold that in their mouth for 10 seconds is brave in my book. I’m not very good at sour, I’m much more a sweet tooth.”
Keith Tordoff, who owned the shop for more than 20 years and built it into the tourist attraction it is now, said Howie was a safe pair of hands. “He’s very bright, a sharp cookie. It’s fantastic that we’ve sold it and we’re really excited to move on to the next chapter,” he said.
They are not moving far. Gloria is opening a vintage film poster gallery in the old HSBC bank on the high street, while Keith will be standing as an independent candidate in May’s election for the North Yorkshire police, fire and crime commissioner.
