Serving real homemade confections in Woodhaven since 1925 Chocolate bliss at Schmidt’s Candy

by Kristen Guglielmo Associate Editor

Stepping into 94-15 Jamaica Ave. in Woodhaven is akin to entering a wonderland of sweets.

Displays are stocked with confections of all sorts and chocolates galore in dark, milk and white varieties — whether your favorite is jelly-filled or has a sweet, caramel center, anyone who enters Schmidt’s Candy is sure to find something to delight the taste buds.

Margie Schmidt, the establishment’s owner, works constantly. She spends time tediously making chocolates and candies, and is often still at it until late in the night.

It’s a craft she learned from her father, Frank, back when he owned the shop, and before then, it was her grandfather, Frank Sr., who purchased the building and opened the store back in 1925.

Frank Jr. passed away when Margie was in her 20s, and she took the reins.

“I had to take it over, or it was going to be finished,” Schmidt said, relaying that no other family members wanted to manage the shop. She recalled working at the family business as early as 6 years old.

Asked if she had any special memories working as a child, Schmidt laughed. “I remember my father used to smoke cigars in here back when you could smoke inside,” Schmidt said. “The string of ash would be so long.” who say they used to come in with their own grandparents.

The decades-old vintage candy molds previously used are on display, and the shop’s old storefront sign hangs indoors, an ode to the long history of the establishment.

Woodhaven resident Melissa Ramos told the Chronicle, “I remember my grandmother used to buy me and my sister the chocolate Easter bunnies from Schmidt’s. We used to get so excited, and then one year she tried to buy the Easter bunnies from Duane Reade or something. They weren’t the same.”

Unique Treats

Schmidt’s is a treasured staple in the Woodhaven community. The Woodhaven Business Improvement District calls the shop “Woodhaven’s spot for homemade chocolates and sweets.”

Countless residents frequent the establishment, and Schmidt says she gets customers coming in with their grandkids,

Additionally, the shop has received honorary certificates from then-Councilmembers Eric Ulrich and Elizabeth Crowley, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven), who last year hosted a ceremony inducting Schmidt’s Candy into the state Historic Business Preservation Registry.

“It gets busy during the holiday season. Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s Day,”

Schmidt said, with Christmastime the busiest. That’s when Schmidt’s handmade candy canes are a bestseller. “Those will be coming sooner than later,” Schmidt said. Right now, in Thanksgiving spirit, chocolate turkeys are available.

Florence, an employee and longtime friend of Schmidt who mans the front of the house, lauded her friend’s work ethic.

“She makes her own hard candy,” Florence said. “Talk about labor intensive!”

Asked if she ever takes a break, Schmidt replied, “Don’t go feeling bad for me. This is the season. I left at midnight last night, and two o’clock two nights before that.” She joked that the holiday season is the “worst time but the best time.”

Schmidt even busies herself making candy on the days the store is closed, Sunday and Monday. Her breaks are taken during the summer, when the shop is closed for good reason: In addition to it being a slower time of year, summer heat makes candymaking difficult.

“Everything has to be a certain temperature,” Schmidt explained. “We’re using real chocolate, so it has to be tempered. During the hotter weather we had, I had to use a refrigerator just for chocolate.”

“The marshmallows, the caramel,” Florence said, “it all responds very poorly to heat and humidity.”

The store’s usual bestsellers are chocolate-covered raspberry jelly, butter crunch, nonpareils, caramels and marshmallows. “The things that are hard to make sell the best,” Schmidt joked. “The jellies are hard to make because each batch is different. Today, the butter crunch was just strenuously hard.”

“She makes chocolate-covered gummy bears now, which disgust her — but they’re a big seller!” Florence said with a laugh. “We even have a lot of sugar-free options.” The sugar-free chocolates are special-ordered and made using a sugar substitute.

The employees’ personal favorites? “It changes from week to week,” Florence said. “I really like the cinnamon sugar — it’s like the crumb of a crumb cake covered in chocolate. The fudge is really good, too.”

Schmidt said she “likes to keep it simple” with chocolate crackers and pretzels.

Asked what keeps people coming back to her store instead of the competition, Schmidt cited both the quality and quantity. She also mentioned the online order system has been great for business. The shop ships nationally, and it has regulars who make orders online.

The future of Schmidt’s is unknown, as there’s no one in line to take over the family business once Schmidt decides to retire.

“I can get at least two more years out of this body,” she said, “and then we’ll see.”

When the time comes, she said she will definitely let the public know, so that the Woodhaven community can bid a final goodbye to the institution.

For more information on Schmidt’s Candy, visit schmidtscandy.com. Q

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