Couple’s Dream Business Is Sweet

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John and Patty Gruber dreamed of someday owning a family business.

But the Lakeville couple was clueless about what their enterprise would be until John asked his wife what she would do if she won the lottery.

Thoughts of candy filled her head.

The high school sweethearts today are living their dream among lollipops, jawbreakers and Razzles at their new store, Kazolly’s Sweet Shop in Lakeville.

The family business opened Dec. 1 in a new building on Holyoke Avenue, the core of downtown Lakeville destined to be made over as redevelopment opportunities arise.

“The community has really embraced it,” said John Gruber, 37.

Today, the shop draws neighbors, kids walking home from school and customers of other downtown businesses, such as a hockey training center and a dance studio. “Once you get the kids in here, it becomes a habit,” John Gruber said.

The store already can’t keep its shelves stocked with favorites, such as Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour Candy and the adult novelty Blue Q gum. At 15 cents for candy sticks and a quarter-mania bin, almost everyone can afford a piece. “The kids can come in with a handful of change if they want,” said Patty Gruber, 37.

It took almost two years for the couple to turn the shop into a reality. During that time, Patty Gruber began collecting bins of candy from places she visited on vacation.

he couple also started searching for the perfect location. Strip malls were out of the question, Patty Gruber said. Instead, the store needed to be seen in a place that had plenty of foot traffic.

Downtown Lakeville seemed perfect, they said.

Patty Gruber, who was a stay-at-home mom, used her marketing background to design a colorful logo and bright circles and stars on the shop’s neon and white walls.