The Candy Jar Hosts Kid-Friendly, Official Grand Opening

Two years after selling Sweet Tooth Candy Shop in 2009, 59-year-old Laurie Cohen decided to .

And this past Saturday, Oct. 15, Cohen held an official grand (re)opening of the sweetest spot on Haddon Avenue, which she now calls . Cohen welcomed around 75 people to the event, which ran from noon to 2 p.m.

"I am the original owner (of Sweet Tooth Candy Shop). I opened it in 2002, in this exact storefront," said Cohen of , located at 742 Haddon Ave. "In 2009, I sold the store to Rhonda and David Craig, who kept the name.

"I was retired, living in Florida. When my daughter had a baby, I decided to come home (to Philadelphia)," she said. "And I found out my old shop was available. The people I sold it to had closed this past May. It just felt meant to be."

While those around her urged Cohen to try opening a candy store elsewhere, she refused to let her former Collingswood shop slip through her fingers.

"Everyone told me to try (opening a candy store) somewhere new, like in Philadelphia or Moorestown, but I didn't want to," she said. "I wanted to come back here, to the people and the children of this town I love so much."

And those familiar faces were present at Saturday's grand opening, as well as some new folks with equally sweet teeth.

"I loved seeing all my old customers, I was so happy to see them," said Cohen of those who attended her grand opening. "But I was just as excited about all the new faces I saw Saturday, too."

Cohen said Saturday's kid-friendly event featured a face painter, balloon artist, and costumed characters—including Cohen's son, Jeff, a shop employee who came appropriately-dressed as a Sugar Daddy.

"We gave out free candy—which happens all the time anyway, not just for our grand opening—as well as free crayons and balloons," said Cohen of the festivities. "We ate cake and had a lot of fun. It was really for the kids."

And now that her shop is officially back in action—she held a soft opening Oct. 1—future visitors can expect to find something that fits their personality whenever shopping at The Candy Jar.

"We really have something for everyone," said Cohen of her inventory. "We have baby- and infant-inspired gift baskets, purses and merchandise featuring icons like Marylin Monroe, we even sell a chocolate bar shaped like a toilet seat. My husband and I joked that it would be a perfect gift for a plumber, even a proctologist!"

But inventory aside, Cohen thought the people made Saturday's grand opening a success.

"(Saturday) just felt like old times," she said of feeling nostalgic about coming back to her former business. "I just want to be (Collingswood's) candy store (again)."

For more details about Cohen's return and for store hours and merchandise information, read Patch's original story about Cohen's comeback by clicking .