The owners of a longtime Bangor candy shop announced Wednesday that their business will close at the end of the month.
Specialty Sweets, owned by Wade and Eliza Butler, will stop making candy this week, and will offer limited hours next week before closing its doors for good.
“We have had a really great 8.5 years serving you all, and never anticipated closing so abruptly,” Eliza Butler said in a post on Facebook. “Unfortunately, along with all of the wonderful times over the years, we have also faced a lot of challenges.”
The Butlers purchased the former Sanborn Candies in 2011. Sanborn Candies, in business since the 1980s, was located on Stillwater Avenue for many years. The Butlers relocated the business, renamed Specialty Sweets, to a much larger location on Springer Drive in 2014. In 2016, the couple opened a second location in downtown Bangor, in the recently renovated building at 31 Main St. That location closed in January of this year.
In her post, Butler said the closure of the downtown location was a setback from which the owners were never able to recover.
“The downtown store never met our expectations and led to a position that we haven’t been able to recover from,” she said. “Other contributing factors are the changes in the mall area. I’m sure it doesn’t come as a big surprise that we see fewer visitors as a result.”
Butler said higher operating costs were also a factor in the decision to close, including minimum wage increases.
In addition to homemade candies, chocolates and fudge, Specialty Sweets also sells ice cream and gourmet popcorn.
For updated operating hours for next week, check back on the Specialty Sweets Facebook page.
