New ice cream and candy shop opens in downtown Glenwood Springs
Post Independent Intern
Staff Photo |
Sweet Adventures, Glenwood Springs’ newest candy shop and ice cream parlor, is ready to meet the needs of every sort of sweet tooth.
More than 100 varieties of colorful bulk candy line the walls, ranging from gumballs to jelly beans. Several tables also support more than 100 types of packaged candy, sporting everything from generations-old favorites to today’s sweet trends. One of the most popular items is Hi-Chew, a Japanese fruit-flavored candy falling somewhere between taffy and bubblegum.
A set of shelves in the corner supports more than 60 varieties of vintage bottled sodas, including 10 types of root beer and a number of daredevil flavors such as bacon, peanut butter and jelly and sweet corn.
Behind the counter, 32 flavors of premium ice cream are available, in addition to a full espresso bar, a wide selection of Italian sodas and a collection of fine chocolates from Asher’s, based out of Pennsylvania. The sweet shop also carries cupcakes, pies and cookies from local baker Tina Trulove and her business Teaspoons.
One of the walls is painted with colorful stripes, complementing the brightly colored flags hanging from the ceiling. Another wall sports the phrase, “Life is like an ice cream; enjoy it before it melts.” Inside the front window, dozens of unique Pez dispensers catch the attention of passersby.
“It’s more than just a candy shop. It’s an adventure into anything sweet,” said Jill Murphy, whose husband, Ken Murphy, is one of three owners of Glenwood Adventure Co., which owns Sweet Adventures. “We felt there was a need in town for a place that’s affordable for the whole family to get ice cream on a regular basis. Glenwood definitely just needed a candy store.”
Sweet Adventures, located at 722 Cooper Ave., is across the street from Glenwood Adventure Co., offering a perfect location to sit down and relax after whitewater rafting or a horseback riding adventure. To accommodate the adventure seekers, a number of flat-screen monitors line the walls of the ice cream parlor, allowing guests to view photographs from their recent outings while cooling off with a milkshake or enjoying a sundae.
The right mix
“It’s really about the mix of going on an activity and then having ice cream and seeing the photographs from your trip,” Ken explained. “We also really want it to be a locals’ hang out. We’re going to look after tourists and locals alike, and we plan to be here a long time, to be a place for kids to remember. Our ultimate goal is to be that neighborhood ice cream parlor.”
The building housing Sweet Adventures previously held the Good Health Downtown Market and Deli, which Ken said has led to a number of comical remarks from locals. “It’s kind of funny, if you think about it,” he said with a laugh. “Some people are calling us Sweet Health.”
The wide variety of sweets and sodas is aimed at meeting everybody’s sugary desires, according to Ken. Sweet Adventures caters to a valley supporting a large population of non-Colorado natives, offering treats from across the nation.
“We have Moxie soda from Maine and Big Red from Texas, so it’s really bringing people back to their roots, giving them what they had in their home states,” Ken explained.
In choosing a location for the candy shop, Ken said Glenwood Adventure Co. originally leased the property for the extra parking space but soon realized its additional promise.
“Cooper Avenue has awesome potential,” he said. “It’s a great little side street off Grand, it’s close to all the restaurants and it has a great neighborhood feel. There has been a lot of investment in Cooper from the city with the library and the parking garage, so we decided to ride that bandwagon and invest in Cooper even further.”
The ice cream parlor opened May 24 with summer hours of 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will be open year-round.
“Everyone loves ice cream, whether it’s cold or hot out,” Ken said. “Nobody comes into an ice cream shop grumpy. Everyone is happy when they’re here, and it’s a great place to work. I wish I’d done this years ago.”
Sweet Adventures is the second candy shop to open this spring in downtown Glenwood Springs. In May, Grand Avenue Sweets opened at 818 Grand Ave.
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