REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.- Since Dolle's Candyland moved a couple of doors down from their original location on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk corner, a new facility was built and moved into for production as of mid-March.
The facility is located off of Coastal Highway, across from Grizzly's Landscape.
The owner of Dolle's Candyland, Tom Ibach, delivers goodies he made the day before and brings them to his store on Rehoboth Avenue. Ibach said the biggest reason for moving production to Milton was the high rent,
"We always planned to move the production out of town - It's so expensive in town, you don't generate any money like you would with a retail store there. So we wanted to do it and because the building got sold."
After stocking up the store, he heads back to the new facility in Milton to prepare the next day's treats.
He said moving away from the beach and into a newer facility has made the candy making process much easier,
"The humidity is such a big factor in making candy - it's a lot easier to work here as far as those atmospheric conditions."
But spending so much time in a kitchen farther away means less time with customers.
"I've been doing it for so many years and you've met so many people. Even though you don't know their names, you know their faces, you recognize them and that's one of the hard parts, is that you don't get to see them anymore." said Ibach.
However it is a change that ultimately allows Ibach to make the candy he needs, when he needs it and with room to spare. Yet, with the additional room, Ibach said he doesn't plan to expand the operations of the business anytime soon.
Even though production is now in Milton, purchasing of the sweet treats will still have to be done at the Rehoboth Beach location.
A storefront was a part of the original plans for the new production facility, but was denied by DelDOT because it falls within the Corridor Capacity Preservation Program. According to Ibach, DelDOT said retail at the site would cause too much congestion on this part of the highway.
The Rehoboth Beach location is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. all week.