Olympia Candies

With a generous new assortment of Ohio-made products and a new refrigerated dairy section, Olympia Candies in Strongsville now lets you take home a sweet treat—and the milk to go with it. You won’t believe what else they have in store.

By: Ken McEntee
Date: 11/19/2008
For years you’ve probably visited the familiar Olympia Candies store and factory on Pearl Road in Strongsville for a refreshing scoop of ice cream, a chocolate covered strawberry or another of Olympia’s handmade premium chocolate treats that have made the family owned institution famous for nearly 100 years.

Now, owners Bob and Celia McGrath offer even more reasons for you to visit their shop.

Along with the new addition of Ohio wines and a wide variety of Toft’s dairy products—like eggs and milk—Olympia now proudly carries a special selection of Ohio-made products that range from pancake mix and maple syrup to cheese, chips and salsa.

How sweet is that?

“Ohio is one of the hardest hit states in this recession and promoting Ohio-made products is one way to help other businesses in our own state,” Bob explains. “Being a small manufacturer, we realize what it takes to survive. We have to band together to support each other.”

Ohio Proud! is a marketing program that was created by the Ohio Department of Agriculture in 1993 to identify and promote food and agricultural products—from fresh meats, fruits and vegetables to dairy products and snack foods—that are made and grown in the Buckeye State. Every dollar spent on Ohio Proud! products reinvests in the state’s economy, supporting local farmers and food processors.

“We already were in the Ohio Proud! program with the caramel corn we make here and it was a natural fit for us to add more Ohio products to our store,” says Bob, who has reserved a whole section of the shop for the new offerings.

Milk, eggs, a huge variety of ice cream flavors and related products like cottage cheese and chip dip all are produced by the family-owned Toft’s Dairy in Sandusky and are conveniently available in Olympia’s new refrigerated dairy cases.

“It’s inconvenient to have to walk through a huge supermarket and wait in long lines just to buy a gallon of milk,” Bob says. “We make it convenient and we make it affordable. I look at what some other people are charging and I say ‘holy smokes.’ Pricing is one of the main reasons for people to come in here. We are competitive with anybody.”

Speaking of price, here’s a scoop for you: From now until May 1, Olympia is dropping the price of its single-scoop ice cream cones from $2.55 to $2.00.

“We’re going to offer other deals as well with the economy like it is,” Bob promises. “We’re in a difficult time and we’re all in this together. We’re doing what we can to help.”

Along with its new selection of Ohio Proud! products, Olympia has expanded its line of greeting cards and, of course, continues to feature a store full of candies and other gourmet treats, like chocolate-covered pretzels, its own special caramel corn and Humphrey’s famous popcorn—the kind they used to pop at Euclid Beach Park.

And while you’re at Olympia enjoying the tastes and the aroma, you just might improve your own economy by striking it rich with an Ohio Lottery ticket. Olympia became one of Ohio’s newest Lotto dealers this month.

While Olympia tantalizes the tongues of young and old with their sweets, the company also is well known for its corporate gift baskets and promotional creations—like custom-made candy bars.

“In this economy you can’t just sit back and hide,” Bob cautions. “It is especially important in times like these to keep the name of your business out there. The economy will always come back, so don’t let people forget about you.”

When you come to Olympia for business gifts and promotions, you aren’t restricted to choosing a pre-made gift basket off the shelf—although they do have plenty of beautiful packages to choose from. They’ll actually custom make the perfect basket that reflects the personality of your business or the tastes of your client.

“The big thing around here is listening to our customers,” Bob insists.

Olympia gift baskets are available in a wide range of prices and can include just about anything in the store, such as chocolates, liqueur cakes, cheese, cordials, candies, coffees, cookies, cocoa mix, wine and candy novelties from the B.A. Sweetie Candy Company of Cleveland. Companies of all sizes—including Fortune 500 companies—trust Olympia to create chocolate business cards, personalized chocolate coins or custom-wrapped chocolate candy bars. With Olympia, you deal directly with the manufacturer, not a middleman, which saves you money.

“Wine is a nice addition to a gift basket,” Bob suggests. “We’ve had a lot of requests for wine, which is why we’ve finally gotten a license to sell it. We’re going to start with a couple of Ohio wines and will expand from there.”

Olympia Candies is already geared up for the excitement of the holidays. Stop in at 11606 Pearl Road, in Strongsville. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. See Olympia’s catalog online at www.OlympiaCandies.com, or call 440-572-7747. Olympia also owns Faroh’s Candies, which is located in the Shoregate Shopping Center in Willowick.

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