By Kate Bartlett @ The VIllager
Originating in Buffalo, NY, Watson’s Chocolates has been family owned and operated for 75 years and 4 generations. Long considered the locals’ favorite, they have been handcrafting delicious confections throughout Western New York since 1946. While they are best known for their sponge candy, they also create a wide variety of creams, turtles, clusters and pretzels as well as BuffaLOVE and holiday favorites. The Ellicottville shop at 27 Washington street carries a wide variety of chocolates as well as Sprague’s Maple products, Perry’s and Anderson’s ice cream and Mehlenbacher’s taffy.
In 1985, Mr. Watson was skiing at Holiday Valley and stopped by the Gin Mill with some friends and realized that Ellicottville needed a chocolate shop. The quaint village and Main Street shopping boutiques charmed him. He began spending more and more time in the area, and became a full-time EVL resident from 1995- 2000. Barbara Toth has been the manager of Watson’s Chocolates here in Ellicottville for the past 18 years. She is a (mostly) lifelong resident of EVL and loves the town with all it’s seasons just as Mr. Watson does. Her daughter Shelby even worked with this publication before moving to Rochester, NY to work for a marketing company named Semify.
The story of Watson’s chocolates began in 1946 - two brothers, Louis and John Watson, and their respective wives, Ellen and Mary, began making chocolates in the back room of their soda fountain and luncheonette on Delaware Avenue in Kenmore, NY. Using old-fashioned methods and recipes shared by their relatives, Watson’s quickly established a reputation for producing fine confections, albeit on a very limited scale. Whatever was produced was immediately sold in the front of their restaurant.
Demand for the chocolates continued through the years. In 1987, Lou and Ellen’s son Jim, who had joined the family business in 1971, decided to “spin off” the chocolate part of the business and created Watson’s Candies, Inc. in 1987, upon doing so he began to add new retail stores and increase production capabilities. With the addition of Jim’s daughter, Whitney into the company in 1993, the Watson’s Chocolates product line was greatly expanded, and five more stores were opened, bringing the total number of Watson’s retail locations to eight, as well as two chocolate boutiques within the Salamanca and Niagara Falls Seneca casinos. Whitney’s presence in the company greatly contributed to a dramatic rise in the company’s mail order and online business, which now accounts for over 20% of the company sales.
The family recipes are still made the same way today, by hand, and in small batches, including their famous Sponge Candy. “Our candy makers and chocolatiers are extended family and we take great pride in using only the highest quality ingredients. Watson’s is committed to using only Fair Trade Certified Cocoa in all the chocolate products produced in our Tonawanda factory, thereby helping to ensure that cocoa farmers in third-world countries are afforded decent living wages to support their families and continue growing their crops in the future.”
Watson’s produces over 40 tons of Sponge Candy annually. Barbara describes this award-winning Sponge Candy as “crispy, tender chunks of caramelized spun sugar, drenched in our impossibly rich and creamy chocolate.” Even with this large volume of production, Watson’s is still crafted by hand in small batches by highly trained candy makers. “Two things that truly sets our Sponge Candy apart is the use of only the tender “heart” of each sponge and the thick chocolate layer we enrobe each piece with. Those two differences combined with the pride and expertise of our team led to us perennially being selected as Buffalo’s Best, as well as featured on the Food Network’s “Kid in a Candy Store” series. Our Sponge Candy is available enrobed in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and orange sponge in milk chocolate.”
Despite some claims to the contrary, the origin of sponge candy is truly unknown but dates to late 1800’s, or early 1900’s, and has several different names depending on the region.
Watson’s high quality of products sets them apart from others. “All our chocolates are created under the watchful eyes of one of the Watson family. Over 75 years and counting, we continue to make all our chocolates with the same pride, passion and pursuit of excellence as they did in Kenmore all those years ago.”
Barbara loves being in the heart of the community. “Ellicottville is a great place to work and call home. I jokingly say “I have a SWEET job” but I really mean it!! Such a great small town with a huge heart, and I am surrounded by sweets all day!! The locals being the backbone of the business and the constantly changing groups of customers - from the winter ski crowd to our summer outdoor enthusiasts we welcome them all to the chocolate shop.”
While their best seller is Sponge Candy, they also have a wide variety of other delicious treats. With the holidays right around the corner, they will be featuring their Jingle Bell Bark, Gourmet Nut Brittle and Pistachio Cranberry Bars.
One final nugget of advice from the expert chocolatier “No meal is complete without something sweet!”
Watson’s is open 7 days a week 363 days a year at 27 Washington Street, WatsonsChocolates.com (716) 699-2805 1-888-875-6643 on Instagram and Facebook @ watsonshocolates