Candies of Merritt is celebrating 50 years in Guelph. To mark this special occasion we are sharing some limited edition candies based on traditional family recipes.
Yurchuk and Merritt Family History
John and Betty Merritt learned to make candy from her father Steve Yurchuck who had apprenticed as a candymaker in
Brantford in the early 1900’s with both Greek and Scottish candymakers. After moving around the Niagara Pennisula eventually the family settled in St. Catharines, Ontario, where Yurchuk Candies became a staple for over 55 years. Son Jim Yurchuk, Betty’s brother carried on with the family store after the passing of their father Steve, while in the fall of 1972 John and Betty opened Candies of Merritt in Guelph, having moved there during the early 1960s.
50 years later the family art of making chocolates and candies by hand and from scratch lives on with their son Bruce Merritt and his family. Old fashioned recipes for cream centres, jellies and hard candies along with freshly roasted nuts, dried fruits and caramel make up the array of possibilities for chocolates. Many if not most go back the beginning of the family candy journey. Others are more recent additions, like the Betty Ann, Johnny Boy and Sir Jim of Yurchuk – all nougat based centres created by Bruce to honour his parents and Uncle Jim, his three candy making mentors.
Even as the world changes, Candies of Merritt quality remains constant. Their chocolate has always been gluten free and
they have always had a large variety of vegan and dairy free options available. It’s not surprising that people travel hundreds
of miles to add a touch of Guelph quality to their celebrations or simply day to day life.
At Christmas time there are a number of extra special treats. Using time honoured methods and no machines, Candies of Merritt’s small batch candy canes and Christmas cutrock are loved all across Canada. Customers even ship them overseas, sending a little of Guelph’s sweet Christmas tradition to family and friends. Once you’ve tried one you’ll understand why hand made makes such a difference.
To celebrate throughout our 50th year of business in Guelph, several favourite chocolates and candies of years past will be made, though not all at once. As well a few new things will be available through this special year for a brief period of time. Keep checking this page to see what is happening.
50th Anniversary Limited Editions
Filled Egg on Pedestal
Before we had the ability to make our flat based Filled Eggs we had to be a little bit more creative. For our 50th anniversary we have along with our popular classic Eggs filled with chocolates we have brought back the original. Each egg is made of milk chocolate and then filled with a selection of some of our most popular chocolates. It makes a great Easter table centrepiece and can be easily shared among family and friends.
Bunny with Jelly Beans
Chocolate Bunnies and jelly beans two Easter Classics. In these egg shaped packages we have combined the two so you don’t have to choose. Each package contains a milk chocolate bunny and Easter Jelly Beans. Also available are Egg shaped packages with jelly beans, gummies and a milk chocolate bunny.
Animal Totes
New for our 50th anniversary we have little animal totes. Each container has a hand decorated milk chocolate monkey or penguin surrounded by jelly beans.