Destination Candy: Washington’s newest go-to sweet spot
Courtesy of True Fit Marketing
Destination Candy features local goodies like the Toffee House and Popcorn Willy.
Courtesy of True Fit Marketing
Phil Agostinelli and Chris Adkins, center, surrounded by family during the Destination Candy ribbon cutting.
Courtesy of True Fit Marketing
From left, Phil Agostinelli and Chris Adkins cutting the ribbon for their new joint venture, Destination Candy
Courtesy of Destination Candy
Courtesy of True Fit Marketing
Courtesy of True Fit Marketing
Phil Agostinelli, left, and Chris Adkins are collaborating on Destination Candy, a new business coming to downtown Washington.
Downtown Washington just got a lot sweeter! Aug. 13 marked the grand opening of Destination Candy, which features confections, sweet treats and local goodies from businesses all around Washington County. Eighty Four native Chris Adkins is the creative force behind Destination Candy along with his partner, Phil Agostinelli of Houston. Adkins’ property management career is in Los Angeles, but his vision to create a retail business focusing on hyper-local products was always destined for downtown Washington. “I am always on the prowl for different opportunities, and I’m really huge into community,” Adkins says. “I was speaking to different people around town and was fortunate to get connected with Shana Brown, the Washington Business District Authority’s Main Street manager.” They put their heads together and devised a plan to create a candy store featuring delicious sweets plus local Washington area products. “Many of the products you are going to see on the shelves are actually local, made in Washington or made in a surrounding county or area.” Of course, that starts with delicious baked goods from L.A. Sweets next door, which is owned and operated by Chris’ mom, Linda. “I bought that property about a decade ago,” says Adkins. “We subdivided the space from Main Street. On the left is the bakery, and on the right is the candy shop. We’re neighbors. She’s our biggest vendor! You’re absolutely going to see L.A. sweets all over our shelves. They’re going to be one of our headliners!”
Finding inspiration
Inspiration for Destination Candy came from just down the street at the Main Street Farmers Market. “When I moved to Los Angeles, I fell in love with the year-long farmers markets,” Adkins says. “When I was home for the farmers market on Main Street, I loved it but obviously realize it’s limited because you can only have it through the warm months and the fall.” He wanted to explore a way to bring the farmers market indoors where they could sell their goods all year. “The Toffee House is someone we’re going to partner with, Three Rivers Salsa, Popcorn Willy, Bedillion Honey. They will absolutely be on the shelves.”
The perfect partner
How do you open a business by yourself all the way across the country? Adkins needed a partner here, and Shana Brown knew the perfect person in Phil Agostinelli. His 40 years of hospitality and restaurant expertise and the timing were both perfect fits. Health problems had forced Phil out of the restaurant business. “I went from 80 hours a week to not being able to stand on my feet long enough to be able to walk. I had to redefine myself,” explains Agostinelli. “I started volunteering at Harmony Life, and my daughter was telling Shana about that. Shana said he needs to talk to Chris. We met, and the rest is history.”
A stepping stone
“Chris always had this backstory of wanting to develop a community and business to give back and develop people,” says Agostinelli. Both men have had family members’ lives changed due to bad decisions or substance abuse. “First and foremost, we are business owners, so we do believe in the profit-making business,” he stresses. “But the second is, we believe in helping our community.” For Adkins, it goes back to a close relative who made a bad decision when he was young. “That one night, that one decision forced our paths to go in very different directions,” Adkins explains. “Phil and I are focusing on implementing what I’m calling a disadvantaged hiring program… people who are in reentry, people who are former addicts who are going through recovery or who have a blemish on their record. Now they have a place they can get training, get back on their feet, have a good job.” Their goal is to become a stepping stone to help those employees get their footing and prepare them as competitive candidates for other opportunities.
The big picture
Destination Candy’s grand opening was just the first step. Adkins’s work experience includes property management for retail outlets in airports, and his long-term vision would be to franchise Destination Candy into airports across the country. Those airports inspired him to create a children’s activity book for traveling families to keep kids occupied and happy in transit. That’s one more item you’ll find on the shelves at Destination Candy. What comes next? Adkins is already pondering a cookbook featuring recipes that include local products. “I’m a huge candy lover,” admits Adkins. “I will probably be the candy tester.” The store will feature local, international and domestic candy such as Reese’s and Hershey’s. While the duo wants to bring candy from around the world to Washington, they also want to take Washington to the rest of the world by offering gift basket delivery featuring local products. “Destination Candy is going to be the spot like nowhere else,” says Agostinelli. “It is going to be a spot when you walk in, the first words out of your mouth will be, ‘Wow, I love it!'” You’ll find Destination Candy at 148 N. Main Street in Washington.