Rising prices in goods, rent force business to move from Newport

NEWPORT, Ky. (WXIX) – Decades worth of iconic sweet treats hang in the balance as Newport’s Sweet Tooth Candies is moving.

The owners, Joe Bristow and partner Larry Geiger, said the heartbreaking decision to move is because of environmental and economic factors.

“It was a lot of different things,” Bristow explained. “We held on as long as we could.”

In 2021, Bristow and Geiger purchased Sweet Tooth Candies from retiring founders Bob and Norma Schneider.

The shop, located on the corner of West 11th and Anne Street, has been a staple in the community since 1972.

“I walked up there and purchased the product frequently and we saw an opportunity to try to rejuvenate it, to bring it back to life, to save it,” Bristow says of the decision to buy the business.

Paying homage to history, Bristow says Bob Schneider stayed on to teach them how to craft the signature chocolates and sweet treats customers grew up with.

“After a year and a half of training with Bob, he felt comfortable with stepping back a little bit,” Bristow remembers.

But it wasn’t long until the new owners ran into some problems.

“We bought it right at the COVID period,” Bristow said. “We knew it was going to be a challenge. The price of everything went up.”

Bristow says the price of raw goods, including chocolate, spiked 40% within months of taking over.

“That was our biggest struggle at the beginning,” Bristow says.

Another blow to the business came in June when the company lost its factory located just down the street from the storefront.

“It got to a point where that rent was going up, on top of the price of goods going up on top of the labor shortage.”

Owners say the issues were piling up and getting worse.

“Losing the factory stopped our chocolate production 100%,” Bristow said.

With no chocolates, clientele decreased, which put rent and material affordability out of reach.

Bristow and Geiger are not giving up on this dream, though. They say they are on the hunt for another storefront and factory with the hope of keeping the sweetness in Newport.

“It’s sad,” says Bristow. “It wasn’t just one thing, but you know, we pick up the pieces and go on.”

Bristow says the search for a new storefront has been difficult. As of now, they have not found a location, but say they have felt supported by city officials.

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