Jennifer Gannon has cashiered at Carmazzi's Candy & General Store for over three years — it's the best job she's ever had.
How can you have a bad day selling candy to kids every day, she said.
“Every day that I'm here, there's somebody that comes and just inspires me with the love that they have for this place,” Gannon said.
Carmazzi’s sits on the corner of Urbana's downtown. It's one of the longest running businesses in Champaign County, with over 100 years of history and traditions.
A visit inside the well-known store front reveals walls lined with a variety of candies and sweets, both new and old. It's garnered a multi-generational business. Customers share their history, traditions and love for its selection of hard-to-come-by vintage sweets.
"We have a lot of people that come in and look for candy gum and candy cigarettes," Gannon said. "The wax lips are a big deal all the time. The older generation loves the Necco Wafer, taffy, Charleston Chew."
Kate Johnson and her husband have owned the store for over four years.
“We've had five generations in the store at one time,” Johnson said. “It's like nothing else, you can't compare it to anything. Just reliving the memories and seeing the childhood joy on the new faces and old faces. A lot of them are thrilled that we still carry the same candy that they had when they were little.”
Sam Bianchi first opened the store as Bianchi’s fruit stand in 1893. It's been Carmazzi’s since the 1930s, when Bianchi’s niece, Victoria, and her husband, Frank Carmazzi, bought the store and expanded it to a general store.
John Carmazzi purchased it from his parents in the 1950s, and ran it for over 60 years until he sold it in 2014.
Victoria Banion grew up visiting Carmazzi's.
“I lived down the street so we just walked up ourselves,” Banion said. “Mr. Carmazzi would keep an eye on everybody. Life was a lot different back then.”
She still lives within walking distance.
Bill Fugget worked at Caramazzi's for over 15 years, starting in 2005.
“I loved working here, it was great," Fugget said. "I was already 50 at that time, and I was surprised how much I learned from John. Not just the candy business, but about life in general."
Carmazzi’s evolved as more grocery stores opened in Urbana, he said.
“It morphed more into a specialty candy store,” Fugget said. “And, of course, people coming in now, bringing their grandkids, great grandkids, they remember how it used to be. And they still enjoy bringing the kids here because it's pretty much been a candy store for 50 years.”
Although he’s no longer employed there, Fugget is never too far. He now offers guidance and watches the store when needed. And, has become a welcomed regular.
Some things have had to change over the years, Johnson said. As prices have risen, the days of coveted “penny candy” are long over.
“The cheapest thing we sell is $0.04,” she said. “We try to keep everything as low as we possibly can, but it's been a challenge. We have had to adjust prices all the time, and probably more than usual just because everything has gone up to add to that.”
Though, one thing is set to stay the same.
“One of the conditions we had to buy it is we couldn't change the name, which of course we never would have,” Johnson said. “I would say it's a responsibility, but it's not. We've always said we're not the owners of Carmazzi’s. We're the caretakers of it, because hopefully this will live on for hundreds of more generations.