Weiser Classic Candy celebrates 15 years

It’s been 15 years since Fawn’s Classic Candies, owned by Fawn Olsen, was purchased and ultimately became Weiser Classic Candy.

 In commemoration, the destination candy store, located at 449 State St., is holding a public celebration on Thursday, June 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 There will be door prizes, free samples from Idaho businesses, wine tasting, a chocolate fountain and a portion of all proceeds go to the WCC Entrepreneurial Scholarship fund and much more. 

 “Fawn and Clark Olsen founded the store, I believe, in 1986 and, really, it was Fawns’ baby,” Nauman said. 

 Fawn and Clark were both respected community members when they founded the candy store. The couple belonged to the LDS church in town and were extremely active in the community, according to Nauman who said that their kids all graduated from Weiser High School.

 Known for her fudge, Fawn was encouraged by her family and friends to open a vendor booth at the Weiser Fiddle Festival. She did so well, she moved into a building off Highway 95 in the small complex where H&R Block is now located.

 The business grew and Fawn expanded, working with food scientists to develop her own proprietary line of chocolate recipes.

 She would relocate her business and eventually moved into the store’s current location. Over time, to supplement revenue during the summer months when chocolate purchases tend to dip, Fawn added sandwiches at the suggestion of former IGA grocery store owner Tom Anderson.

 The IGA was located at the previous site of Ridley’s on E. First St., which is now earmarked for a future townhouse development.

 Fawn later added ice cream to her list of offerings.

Store switches hands

 Before purchasing the store with a business partner, Nauman worked as the Director of Hotel Operations for the west coast division of Majestic America cruise lines.

 He lived all over the country and in 2006 was working and living in Portland, Ore. He had already been thinking about moving back home and after a Christmas visit that year, went back to his office in Portland and began hunting for jobs.

 “I noticed, of course, that Fawn had the candy store up for sale, which kind of surprised me because I always assumed one of the kids would take over, but none of them wanted to be chocolatiers,” explained Nauman, a 1987 Weiser High School graduate. “So, I made some phone calls, got some information, and made several trips from Portland to Weiser, doing my research and my business plan and wound up moving back in April 2007. We finalized the deal in June and took ownership of the business that same month.”

 It was right around the time of the housing market crash and subsequent economic downturn.

 In 2020, right at the beginning of COVID, Nauman bought his business partner out and has been the sole owner ever since.

 “We signed the papers on Friday and the following Monday, the governor issued the stay-at-home order and I thought, ‘Boy, I have some great timing, don’t I?’” he chuckled.

 Nauman, who retained Fawn’s recipes, has continued to grow the business.

 “We still offer all the same candies that Fawn made, plus some new ones. I did start using more local ingredients where I could,” Nauman said. He has since added huckleberry candies, a new fudge line, roasted nuts, soft serve ice cream and, most recently, espressos and coffees.

Future plans

 “Fawn didn’t wholesale her candy to many stores, my plan is to see the candies in stores all over the Pacific Northwest,” Nauman said. “One of my goals was to make Weiser Classic Candy a destination location and I’m just now starting to realize that. I can’t wait to see where we will be by the time we celebrate our 20th anniversary.”