On the record ... with Todd and Betsy Hendrey

Todd Hendrey “grew up in chocolate.”

Hendrey  was just starting high school in 1982 when his mother and stepfather, Sharon and Tom Smith, opened The Confectionary in downtown DeKalb. In 1994, the family opened a second candy store in downtown Sycamore.

Known as “The Candyman,” Hendrey married his wife, Betsy, seven years ago. Early this year, the couple bought the family business from the Smiths, who retired.

“We are very grateful for all they’ve done for us,” Betsy Hendrey said. She left her job as a secretary at Northern Illinois University to devote herself full time to the business as bookkeeper and apprentice candy maker.

Todd Hendrey worked several other jobs before returning to the family business about 20 years ago.

“I realized the big mistake I had just made,” he said. “It was nice to come back. I was built for this.”

The couple sat down with MidWeek reporter Doug Oleson to discuss the candy business.

MidWeek: What was it like growing up in a candy store?
Todd Hendrey: It was great. I was just starting high school. I got out of school early so I could go to work at the store. I would man the register.

MW: Did your friends ask for free candy?
TH: No one ever came right out and asked for candy, but it was never turned down.

MW: Did you feel you had to join the family business?
TH: No, there was no pressure at all. ...There was a nonverbal conversation that I let them know that this is something that I want to do. This is what I was built to do.

I have a younger brother, Stephen, who is not in the business.

MW: Betsy, by marrying someone in a family  business, did you feel any pressure to get involved?
Betsy Hendrey: I never felt the choice was made for me. But I think I always knew it would happen. When it did, I got really excited.
TH: I always had plans for us to run this together.
BH: Todd told me that everyone is  happy  here. It's just a wonderful place to work. Now I'm here late at night and he calls me to tell me to come home.

MW: Isn't it tempting to eat the candy?
TH: Back when I first started, and I was alone in the store, I probably ate three-quarters to a pound of chocolate a day.
BH: All employees can eat anything they like as long as they're at work. New employees go a little crazy and eat a lot at first, but then it starts to taper off once they settle in and discover their favorites. The all-you-can-eat policy is not only good for employee morale, but it makes good business sense to have each employee well versed on our products.

MW: How many kinds of candy do you have here?
TH: We have 300 types of candy, with a lot of variations of each one.

MW: What is the most difficult candy to make?
TH: Sponge candy. It's also very time consuming. When the ingredients are combined during the cooking process, they  become temperamental and easy to burn. The finished product is sensitive to temperatures and we can only make it during the winter months due to the low humidity.

MW: How long does it take to learn how to make candy?
TH: It took our family years to perfect the recipes used in our confections, so the learning process will likely be a slow one.
BH: I anticipate that it will take me about one to two years to become completely comfortable with all of the recipes. Some of the recipes can change according to the time of year – because of humidity, for example – so going through a few yearly cycles of candy-making will expose me to all of the variables and help me learn the processes completely.
Todd has a solid background in candy making and is working with his mom and stepfather to teach me the intricacies of candy making.

MW: What's your own favorite candy?
TH: I have a bunch of them, usually what's in season. We have a lot of seasonal candy here, like caramel apples in the fall. That's the only time you can get them, so that's my favorite then. But caramel is probably my favorite.
BH: I recently discovered English toffee, but it's always changing.

MW: Do you like working together?
BH: Yes, we are enjoying it very much. Our duties are primarily split between two locations and we both have different areas of focus which speak to our strengths. I enjoy the paperwork and organizational aspects of running a business while Todd enjoys working with the customers and networking in the community.

MW: What's the secret for a successful business?
TH: To respect the customer. We also have 10 employees at the two stores who do a bang-up job. We have been very fortunate.

MW: How did you two meet? Was she ordering candy and your eyes just met?
TH: We met on a blind date in the parking lot of Fannie Mae in Downers Grove. That's the "f-word" to us.
BH: A lot of my friends call him my "Sugar Daddy." People in Sycamore call Todd the "Candyman," or "Candy" for short. He even has that printed on his softball jersey. Oftentimes when we walk through downtown Sycamore, people will shout, "Candyman," as they drive by and honk. He's very well known, especially by little kids.

MW: Since you own a candy store, what do you get each other for Valentine's Day?
BH: We don't buy chocolate for each other, obviously, but we definitely like to get creative. One year Todd made a chocolate message bar with a funny note on it, and another year he created an elaborate scavenger hunt for me. He recorded each clue on a CD that I played in my car as we drove from location to location throughout DeKalb and Sycamore. After each stop, I'd listen to the next clue.