The Art of Candy Making
At Candies of Merritt, we practice the art of candy making. Our chocolates & candies are made from scratch, by hand. These traditional methods have been passed down and refined by generations of our family. The results are sweets with exceptional flavour, quality, and texture.
Bite into a handmade chocolate. Savour the rich peppermint flavour of an old-fashioned Humbug candy. Close your eyes as tastes mix and dissolve on your tongue. Traditional chocolates & candies evoke a unique feeling in the taster. Eating these old-fashioned sweets is an experience that creates shared moments that are satisfying, memorable, and delicious.
Our History
Candy making is a tradition for the Merritt family. Current owner, Bruce Merritt, is the third generation of candy makers in his family. When Bruce’s grandfather arrived in Canada over 100 years ago from the Ukraine, he apprenticed under Scottish and Greek candy makers in the Brantford area. He started the family’s first candy shop, Yurchuk Candies, in the early 1900s.
Yurchuk Candies found a permanent home in the community of St. Catharine’s, where it remained for over 50 years. Sadly, after both Bruce’s grandfather and uncle passed away, the shop closed—although many loyal Yurchuk customers continue to visit Candies of Merritt to this day.
Back in the 1940s, Guelph was a well-known candy making centre. There were as many as 6-8 candy makers operating in the Royal City at this time, which was quite unusual for a town of its size. As a result, many people would travel to Guelph to buy chocolates, candies, and baked goods.
The original Candies of Merritt was established in 1972, by Bruce’s parents, and located on Elizabeth Street. Since then, Candies of Merritt has moved to its current location at the intersection of Speedvale and Stevenson, in the Speedvale Centre. Bruce has taken over as the business owner and continues to make chocolates and candy for the local community!
The Tradition of Candy Making
At Candies of Merritt, we are proud to continue the traditional method of candy making, in the city of Guelph, Ontario. At the same time, we enjoy experimenting with flavours and inventing new recipes to surprise and delight our patrons.
Candy making is all about the seasons. As candy-makers, we create different products throughout the year. When Christmas approaches, we pull candy canes and shape cut rock candy. For Valentine’s Day, we dip hand-rolled chocolate truffles. At Easter, we mould chocolate eggs and bunnies.
Most things stay the same. The majority of our chocolates & candies stay year-round. Every chocolate is hand-dipped. Each candy is pulled on marble tables. Even our nuts are roasted on site—because we know it will taste better.
Our Customers Around the World
Thanks to our commitment to quality candy making, we receive orders from across Canada and around the world.
Handmade candy canes are shipped to Ireland for Christmas. Customers visiting from Germany will travel directly from the airport to our store just to pick up Peppermint Patties. Others will come from far afield as James Bay for a regular supply of our chocolates.
The amazing support of our customers allows us to continue the wonderful tradition of candy making — and we look forward to many more years of doing so!