Sweet Talk in Carmel With locally made chocolates and bulk treats, Simply Sweet Shoppe is a real-life Candyland By Gretchen Keene Above: Jill Zaniker with a customer’s sweet purchase; Opposite: Holiday cake pops and candy cane suckers. Photos by Christina Richey
Step inside Simply Sweet Shoppe in downtown Carmel and chances are you won’t know where to look first. The place is stocked from hardwood floors to ceiling with bulk bins and jars filled with brightly colored candies. Sophisticated chocolates and gift baskets catch the eye. A seating area invites customers to enjoy their treats, plus coffee, hot chocolate and owner Jill Zaniker’s very own sipping chocolate—a two-ounce pour best described as a creamy, melted truffle in a cup. This is exactly what Zaniker, a Carmel native, envisioned when she set out to fill a retail niche. “I really wanted people to have a place to come and relive childhood memories,” she says. “And that’s what the shop has become known for.”
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Case in point: “I had a 90-year-old woman come in recently and she was just so delighted by the place. It took her right back to when she was a little girl,” Zaniker says. Zaniker, who has spent years in retail, opened Simply Sweet Shoppe in 2008 after being a stay-at-home mom for 12 years. In addition to offering retro candies, bulk items and novelty sweets (world’s largest gummy worm, anyone?), Zaniker knew she wanted to seek out quality chocolate made in Indiana. “I carry local items whenever possible,” she says. “I strongly believe in supporting other small local businesses.” Today, the shop stocks everything from gourmet marshmallows made by 240sweet in Columbus to gluten-free cookies by BeeFree Bakery in Noblesville.
Winter 2011
