Three hundred sixty degrees of sweet and salty treats. Of candied pecans. Of dark chocolate sea salt caramels. Of almond buttercrunch.
Three giant walls showcase thousands of wrapped packages. The center of the store boasts a ring-shaped counter loaded with more goodies to taste-test. Bright candy photographs frame the ceiling.
Just over a year ago, no such place existed in Kansas City. And alumna Denise Mueller Kelley, class of 1982, noticed the absence.
“My daughter loves nuts, so one Valentine’s Day [February 2010] I tried to find fresh nuts here in the Kansas City area for my daughter and my niece and nephew,” Kelley said. “But I couldn’t find any fresh, quality nuts in Kansas City.”
Kelley said she researched and discovered that there were no true candy and nut stores left in Kansas City.
“And so I just saw a need,” she said.
After about a year and a half of searching for various companies and chocolatiers, she decided to take on a new challenge, securing their Ranch Mart location at 95th and Mission in October of 2011.
But Kelley said she knew she couldn’t do it alone. With a phone call to Arizona, her sister Suzanne Mueller, class of 1996, was on board.
“I wanted a new move, a new change,” Mueller said. “It was good to come back and be around family again.”
December 12, 2012 marked We B Nuts and Stuff ’s first birthday.
“Fortunately we opened at the holidays, so it was crazy in here,” Kelley said. “Basically we opened at Christmas, and then we slid right into Valentine’s Day, and then you have Easter and Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.”
The sisters agree that holidays bring the most customers. In the two weeks before Christmas, they sold over 300 pounds of dark chocolate sea salt caramels, Kelley said.
As store owner, Kelley runs the business side while Mueller manages the storefront. Their brother John Kelley also works at We B Nuts and Stuff, managing internet sales and helping out at the shop.
“Luckily it’s a fun business,” Kelley said. “People come in and they experience the store and it’s a fun atmosphere.”
Mueller said she loves to make the products jump at the customer. Everything needs flair, she said, so she rearranges the shelves every day to showcase certain products.
“You can’t really have a bad day in a candy shop.” she said.
Even working with siblings?
“It’s a laugh a minute,” Kelley said.
With a year and two months to look back on, Kelley said she would call the nut and candy store a success. And it’s still spreading, she said.
“There’s nothing like us in Kansas City,” she said. “It’s unique, different, quality and fresh. That’s kind of why we’ve taken off.”