ABOUT US
Our founder, Jan, was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania to Raymond and Violet Perry. Although the family moved to Illinois, Jan spent many of her childhood summers with her Grandma Yeager in Elton, Pennsylvania. Being of Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish heritage, Jan learned at a very early age how special homemade treats were. Jan loved to sit in Grandma's kitchen, watch her make homemade Snickerdoodles, and be entertained by her stories of horse and buggy deliveries in "the good old days".
Times were difficult during Jan's childhood and her parents worked extra hard, not only to put food on the table and a roof over the family's heads, but to give five kids some of the things they thought children should have. Dad worked long hours and Mom baked and decorated cakes at home to earn extra income. Jan was in grade school when her mom taught her how to pipe roses and make wedding bells from sugar. Jan helped deliver the beautiful wedding cakes they baked, all the time pretending she was back in "the good old days" using a horse and buggy instead of a car.
Once a month, Mom and Jan would make a pot of fudge while the boys played in the front room. When the aroma of the cooking fudge wafted past their noses, they'd scramble to the kitchen and beg to let them lick out the fudge pot!
Jan's fondest memories were of the beautiful vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter, and coconut filled Easter eggs that were nestled in the family's baskets on Easter morning. Each egg was exquisitely decorated with a colorful flower and the name was elegantly written under it. Jan's favorite was the peanut butter egg! Later on Jan learned that it was her mom, and not the Easter Bunny, who had stayed up many long nights to make them! When Mom taught Jan how to make those luscious, chocolate Easter eggs they loved so well, she realized she wanted her very own chocolate shop!
While dating her soul mate, Bob, Jan learned that he also loved chocolate. He remembers as a toddler riding in the shopping cart at the grocery store with his mom, he would, very discreetly, eat all the chocolate morsels his mom was purchasing to make chocolate chip cookies. She got to the checkout, and all that was left was an empty bag! He also had what he calls "the best part-time job ever," during his high school years, working in a chocolate and ice cream shop!
Jan and Bob began "fine-tuning" their chocolate-making skills when they were their kids' grade school room mother. In addition to chocolate cupcakes and cookies for their class parties and functions, they made chocolate-covered pretzel rods and chocolate mascot pops for their sports teams to sell at the games. Before the first sports season was over, Jan and Bob were making and selling team pops for other schools in the area. When Bob went back to college he made and sold assorted chocolates at local craft shows and businesses to cover the cost of tuition and books.
Bob owned his own business, and thanked his clients by treating them to homemade chocolate assortments. Before long his customers began to ask if they could order the delicious chocolates. There were so many inquiries that Bob transformed their basement into a small chocolate factory and they began taking orders over the phone. Although city codes limited sales to deliveries and shipping only, they got licensed and Jan's Homemade Candies was born!
After their children were grown, Jan and Bob traded the cold Chicago winters for the warmth of sunny South Florida. But before long, they began to miss their little basement chocolate factory, so they started making chocolates in their condo. Friends and relatives encouraged Jan and Bob to open their own shop, so Bob and Jan drove from mall to mall looking for a storefront to rent. After months of searching the malls around Fort Lauderdale, they still hadn't found a suitable location. When they were about to give up, after much prayer, asking the Lord for guidance, He led them to a vacant storefront in a little strip mall just a block from the beach and their dream of having their very own chocolate shop was finally becoming a reality!
Five months of hard work later, on March 16, 2001, with mom present and beaming from ear to ear, Jan and Bob greeted their first customers to Jan's Homemade Candies Inc., at 4327 North Ocean Drive in Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida 33308.
Bob and Jan continued to share their dream, and love for homemade chocolates with the world. They have been honored to receive the "Best of Fort Lauderdale" award for numerous years (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. 2014), and were featured on the Food Network’s "Food Finds, Hot and Spicy" episode. On July 22, 2013, Grandparents magazine (Grandparents.com) listed Jan's Candies in the "10 Best Candy Shops in America", naming it as the Best Homemade Chocolates in America. Jan's was featured in the October, 2013, edition of "Candy Industry Magazine". It was also featured as one of ten "Sweet Stops Across America" in the July, 2014, special edition of "all-american cooking's Brownies, Cookies, Bars, and More" magazine. Jan's Candies was very excited to be named ONE OF THE TOP TEN CHOCOLATE SHOPS IN AMERICA in the Jan-Feb 2015 issue of "Cooking with Paula Deen" On July 7, 2022, Yelp chose the Best Chocolates in Every State and Canada, and Jan's Homemade Candies was chosen the BEST CHOCOLATE IN FLORIDA!
In 2023, Jan and Bob made the difficult decision to retire and searched long and hard for the right person to take over their legacy. They handed the keys over to Nestor Rodriguez, a culinary master to continue the tradition.
Today Jan's Candies offers the same kind of "homemade goodness" that Mom and Jan made so many years ago. Our chocolates and many varieties of fudge are made fresh daily with the finest ingredients. You can have our homemade chocolates sent directly to you or your loved ones wherever they are. Receiving chocolates from Jan's Homemade Candies is like getting a care package from home! Our name says it all, Jan’s Homemade Candies!
If you happen to be in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area, you’re always welcome to stop in for a free sample. And who knows, you may even get a chance to lick the fudge pot!
