Downtown Gets a New Candy Shop, Just In Time for Sweetest Day

There's having a passion for something..... and then there's the Ziggy mold.

"As a kid, instead of bringing in cupcakes to school as my birthday treat, I would home-make and bring in chocolate suckers," said Lori Capitani, chocolatier and co-owner of the new Capies Candies in downtown Rochester. "In fact, I still have my Ziggy mold."

While Ziggy may still hold a soft spot in Lori's heart, the small, bald and trouserless comic strip icon hasn't made an appearance on the shelves of the new Capies Candies location on East Street — yet.

The store prides itself in customization and specialty jobs. So hold on, Zig — with the right customer request, you may get your moment in the chocolate spotlight once more.

The family that works together ...

Lori's partner in chocolate is her sister-in-law, Shannah Capitani. The two women are married to brothers who also happen to work together. 

"My passion stems from my grandma," Shannah said. "Every weekend we would spend out at her farm baking. For the holidays we'd make 40 different kinds of cookies and treats then make them into gift sets." 

The women met on Lori's wedding day when Shannah was the best man's date. Twelve years later, including two years in business together, the two are closer than ever — so close that two of their children even share a birthday.

"We're two peas in a pod," Shannah said. "Our husbands just laughed when we told them we were going into business together, saying it was just another excuse for us to spend time together.

"But I couldn't spend this many hours with anyone else."

In the heart of the kitchen

With a shared passion for candy creation, the sisters-in-law started making gourmet masterpieces for friends, families and business associates. 

"Everyone said 'You should do this professionally,' so we did," Shannah said. 

The women have spent the last two years subletting commercial kitchen space in Ann Arbor — not exactly convenient for the Rochester Hills residents — before deciding to move closer to home.

"We looked at a lot of cities, but Rochester was it," Lori said. "At first we thought just kitchen space but when we found this place it made perfect sense."

Everything is homemade fresh on location in what Shannah called, "the cute, little house" which has been beautifully redecorated in a fitting brown and blue motif. 

"It's perfect for us!" she said.

About the chocolate

Capies Candies is best known for its drizzle sticks, marshmallow pops and chocolate-covered cookies. In fact they were winners of Hour Magazine's 2011 awards for Best Locally Produced Food Brand. 

One of the shop's most popular drizzle sticks is the cherry-pistachio stick. 

"We wanted something with a Michigan ingredient," Lori explained, "and the cherries were the perfect addition."

Another big seller this time of year is the caramel and chocolate covered apple. "We have a lot of people walk over from the Farmer's Market to get them," Lori said.

Capies also offers gluten-free products, including chocolate-covered cookies and drizzle sticks.

And with Sweetest Day only three days away, we would be totally remiss not to mention their chocolate roses, heart gift tray and Sweetest Day tower as easy ways to sweeten up your sweetie.

Capies will be open on Saturday for those last-minute Sweetest Day shoppers.

Grand Opening

While they are currently open for business, Capies Candies will celebrate their grand opening in a big way on Saturday, Nov. 5. The day will include face-painting, treats, lots of samples and discounts. 

And Lori assured me, "All the oompa loompas will be put away."

Capies Candies is located at 304 East St. It's open Monday by appointment only, Tuesday and Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It's closed Sunday. Questions? Call 248-650-1900.