Sugar Shack

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Photographs by Aaron M. Conway

Jenco Brothers’ Candy brings bulk sweets to the masses.

What do you do when you find a vacant storefront in a beloved college neighborhood? You buy it and fill it with candy, of course. In January 2012, after spotting an empty shop space on McMillan Avenue, brothers Chris and Joey Jenco set to work transforming the property into a sleek, minimalist shop lined with more than 300 varieties of bulk candy, plus candy bars, frozen yogurt, Slush Puppies, specialty popcorn, and even a few over-the-top concoctions like chocolate covered bacon. As kids, the brothers Jenco used family vacations to different cities and towns as an excuse to check out the local candy store. As adults, they’ve taken those experiences and made them their own. “All of those stores went with the old-fashioned look and really ran with it,” says Chris. “And we wanted to put our twist on it: young, tech-savvy, and modern.” Set up right on the border of University of Cincinnati’s campus, Jenco Brothers’ Candy does what it can to feed the collegiate sweet tooth, such as staying open until 3 a.m. on weekends and offering a flat rate for bulk candy. With coffee and free WiFi, Jenco Brothers’ Candy adopts a coffeehouse atmosphere, complete with indie music in the background. And college kids may be all grown up when it comes to midterms and books, but some things never change: “It’s really fun to watch little kids come in here and just go crazy,” says Joey. “But college kids come in and have the same reaction.” We can hardly blame them.

Jenco Brothers’ Candy, 224 W. McMillan St., Clifton, (513) 417-8956, jencobrotherscandy.com

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