the world tastes good cause the candyman thinks it should

my final stop in chillicothe had to be lloyd's sweet shoppe. i'd been eyeing it since my arrival, and i can tell you, it did not disappoint.

i had the immense pleasure of speaking to beth todaro. her and her husband jim bought lloyd's around last christmas and have been building on the candy purveyor's history ever since.

one of their additions, besides the historic photos of water street when it was a canal, is the sale of local chocolatier ranny and maude's confectionery concoctions. she (i think her name is lisa) is a prodigious chocolate dipper and uses her skills to create everything from chocolate covered brownies, twinkies, and pretzels to truffles.pictured here is a hazelnut truffle (center); two chocolate covered cherries with fondant, stem and all; chocolate covered graham cracker; chocolate covered caramel pretzel; and the owner's recommended favorite, the toffee pretzel sticks. particularly impressive is that mass to the left of the photo, an opus known as the wooly bear. it's basically rocky road on a stick - marshmellows, caramel, nuts, chocolate - you get the idea.

another staple at lloyd's is a myriad of chocolates by waggoner, out of canton, ohio. waggoner chocolates is operated by the family of the late harry london. their portfolio of delicious decadence includes dark raspberry or orange creams, white key lime chocolates, buckeyes, and chocolate covered peanut butter sandwich cookies. pictured below are a few of my purchases.

lloyd's also has chocolate covered potato chips, a wide variety of sugar free chocolates from asher's chocolates, and a whole counter of 'penny candies' by the pound. i bought some gummy vampire teeth.

besides all these incredible offerings, lloyd's participates in the gallery walks on the second saturday of every month by displaying a local artist's work. in speaking with the owner, beth, she was enthusiastic and creative, full of ideas to promote lloyd's and the community in chillicothe, including horse drawn carriage rides and lloyd's mini melts ice cream cart on the sidewalk on hot afternoons. lloyd's really is a gem.

the best part? they ship. just check out their website for contact information.