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Chicago sweets shop forges community connection through quality, giving back.
John and Jill Manchester weren't looking to buy a candy store when they sought a new business opportunity in 2011, but it was a match made in heaven.
John has a background in engineering, which he can apply to just about any field. Jill, meanwhile, has worked in the candy industry for years and eats candy "night and day," John said.
So, when the Manchesters walked into Windy City Sweets, the then-28-year-old candy shop in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, they were delighted.
"The visual of all the colors, the smell of the candy - it's magical. It's back in time. It's a simpler time," John said. "When we walked in, we looked around to see all the different candies, the nostalgia, the memories that it brought back."
Jill asked to try the store's specialty - homemade s'mores - and that was it.
"As soon as she bit into it, she said, 'We're buying this store. This store is ours,'" John said. "And we did."
Over the next six years, with help from the original owner,...