Sweeties Downeast
Note- this story was originally written in 2021 and is reposted here. They are a seasonal business, but worth the visit if you are in Eastport in the warmer weather.
What鈥檚 better than driving over to the most eastern city in all of America? Driving to a candy shop located in the most eastern city in all of America. Sweeties Downeast is a 鈥渃onfectionary wonderland鈥 operated by the venerable Lisa Stephen as well as her two dogs: Fargo, an Australian terrier, and recently Malachai, an 8-year-old Shih Tzu. The candy shop is located on 80 Water Street in Eastport and offers more than 400 varieties of sweets.聽
Amongst these sweets, there are 250 different confections like licorice, saltwater taffy, old-time favorites, Jelly Belly鈥檚, chocolate, sours, and so much more. According to Lisa, gummies are the customers鈥 favorite candies, and there鈥檚 even a 3ft. long gummy snake that weighs about 鈪 of a pound. Lisa says, 鈥淚t鈥檚 stomach-turning, but I swear the more disgusting the shape the more they like it. I鈥檝e got gummy bloody eyeballs, brains, teeth, bullfrogs on one end and cupcakes, hearts, flowers, and ice cream cones on the flip side鈥.
Sweeties Downeast鈥檚 store specialty is the Beckett鈥檚 Honey Sticks. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the signature chocolate bar from Beckett鈥檚, Eastport and Calais鈥 original confectioners started by 2 Scottish brothers in the mid 1800s. There was a store and factory on the main street in each town. Honey Sticks are semi hard fondant bars dipped in dark chocolate. It takes a couple of days to make each batch. Beckett鈥檚 was a family business for many generations. When it closed the recipes were carried on by another local chocolatier which eventually closed in the early 2000s鈥.
When Lisa first opened Sweeties Downeast, she would always have locals come into her store and ask if she sold Beckett鈥檚 Honey Sticks. Seeing the community鈥檚 love for this sweet, Lisa had a friend introduce her to Martha Beckett who is the great great granddaughter of the Beckett family. Lisa was able to meet with the Beckett family and they were kind enough to share the recipe with Lisa. Even though it takes a couple of days to make each batch, the payoff is well worth it since people from all across the country buy Beckett鈥檚 Honey Sticks, especially around Christmas.
Beckett鈥檚 Honey Sticks may be a local favorite, but Lisa鈥檚 preference is to make and consume fudge! Lisa says, 鈥淢y personal weakness is fudge. I make it and tend to concentrate on tried and true flavors like chocolate, peanut butter, peanut butter/chocolate, caramel sea salt, maple and Maine blueberry. I love to make it 鈥 basically because I sample as I go!鈥
Lisa鈥檚 success is attributed to her 鈥渓abor of love鈥; she put in hours upon hours of work into her business starting off. Lisa personally took on many responsibilities such as staffing the store alone, designing and decorating the space, and other operations. Lisa says, 鈥淚f you were to look on it as a salaried position, it doesn鈥檛 make sense鈥, but the 鈥渂enefits are huge鈥. Lisa鈥檚 strategy was to do everything she possibly could by herself and it has been one of the contributing factors to her success.
Her work ethic and dedication to Sweeties Downeast helped her business survive when the pandemic hit in March 2020. In order to stay safe during the pandemic, Sweeties Downeast gave each of its customers disposable gloves to wear, which allowed them to continue to give out free samples in-store.
鈥Eastport is an older community, so Sweeties is a big draw for grandkids. Many folks tell me it鈥檚 the first place families want to visit when they get to town. I have one little guy who comes every summer. As soon as he gets here, he runs into the store, opens his arms and yells 鈥業鈥檓 back!鈥. I live for that鈥 -Lisa Stephen