3rd-generation shop owner makes all the candy by hand

NEW YORK - Schmidt's Candy has been in Woodhaven, Queens, for nearly 100 years.

"A 95-year-old candy store started by my grandfather in 1926 or 1927. No one really knows because no one is around to argue," said Margie Schmidt, the store's owner.

"We are making beautiful candy canes—I'm not really sure that anyone else in New York City makes candy canes," she added.

Margie does nonstop physical labor to make all of the candy canes and other goodies in the store by herself. She works 16-hour days during the holiday season.

"I do it because I do love it, it's fun, it does have a sense of nostalgia, of course," she said. "I use the same equipment that my father and grandfather used. I believe in ghosts and when I do something wrong, grandpa and daddy are up there talking to me."

Margie said her three kids don't want to take over the business one day but she hopes they will eventually change their minds.

"I'll be sad that it ends with me," Margie said. "I'll be very sad, so I hope it doesn't."

Schmidt's Candy is open seven days a week during the holiday season.

Schmidt's Candy | 9415 Jamaica Avenue, Woodhaven, N.Y. 11421 | 718-846-9326 | schmidtscandy.com