Who Needs Willie Wonka With Raymer’s In Town?

Who Needs Willie Wonka With Raymer’s In Town?

By Leslie VanSant

In the Harry Potter series

by J.K. Rowling, when a Dementor causes Harry to faint, he’s revived by his professor with a piece of chocolate—a magical remedy.

At Raymer’s Homemade Candies in Middleburg, the magic is real.

For three generations, Raymer’s has been making delicious homemade, handmade chocolates with old recipes from Germany. They started in Wisconsin, moved to Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and this past summer, opened a shop on the corner of Madison and Federal Streets.

A gift box of chocolate pretzels.

Photo by Leonard Shapiro

Cayce Rockhill described Raymer’s one recent afternoon in the shop. “This is a family business. It started with great-grand-parents, then parents, now it’s our generation, and we’re getting our children involved.”

Sue Raymer, the family matriarch based in Doylestown, shared the history. Her father taught her husband, Mark, who in turn taught their children and spouses, daughter Lysa and her husband Kelly, son Cory and his partner Cayce.

When the children moved east from Wisconsin, the parents followed and in their “retirement” opened a candy store in Doylestown.

“My husband missed making the chocolates, so we decided to open a shop where we could get to know our customers and our community,” said Sue. “We thought it would be a part-time, small business, something to keep us a little busy in retirement.”

But the chocolates are simply too good, too delicious. And the business grew. You could say, by word-of-mouths filled with chocolate covered caramels. Or chocolate covered pretzels.

Raymer’s uses 100% Belgian chocolate as the base of its confections. Inside or wrapped around much of the chocolate is the family recipe for caramel. Over the course of a year, they use 20,000 pounds of cacao to make all the candies.

Best sellers include chocolate (milk or dark) covered caramels, peanut butter cups and meltaways, turtles made with your choice of almonds, cashews or pecans, “Polar bears” which are spanish peanuts draped in caramel and white chocolate, and Virginia toffee, an almost perfect blend of chocolate, toffee and almonds. And then there are the truffles. In addition to a case full of bonbons, Raymer’s also has dozens of molds, solid and hollow, to make special chocolates, including Santas, Easter Bunnies, and a Thanksgiving Turkey “chocolate pinata.”

They might even have burgundy and gold football-shaped chocolates for your next tailgate. They can match the colors to Cory Raymer’s jersey from his career as center with the Washington Football Team. And, of course, there are horses. Chocolates make great gifts and the Raymers are happy to help you customize for any occasion: baby showers, weddings, graduations. Teacher gifts. Business gifts. Thank-you gifts. Chocolate covered wine bottles. “We once put an engagement ring in a chocolate mold,” said Sue. Arriving in the shop for fall and Halloween are caramel and chocolate dipped candy apples and candy corn.

“We love Middleburg,” Cayce said. “It’s a place that is in line with our philosophy and approach. This is a family and kid friendly sweet shop. We like to think we have something for everyone.”

And a little magic, too. Raymer’s Homemade Candies open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday 11-7, Saturday 11-5 and Sunday 11-4. www.raymerscandies.com.