River Street Sweets wholesale

About River Street Sweets

Founded in 1973 on Savannah’s historic waterfront, River Street Sweets is the city’s oldest candy store, today owned and operated by siblings Jennifer and Tim Strickland. The legacy began with The Cotton Bale, a Christmas gift shop started by their grandmother Georgia Nash, mother Pam Strickland and father Stan Strickland. At the time, River Street wasn’t the bustling area of activity and tourists it is today, and with expensive rent that reflected the times – $50 – the family struggled at first. But all it took was the stumbling curiosity of a young Tim at an Atlanta gift show and two fudge pots purchased from Calico Cottage’s Larry Wurzel to turn their fates around. A few weeks later, following her father’s instructions, Jennifer made the first batch of fudge, a mint chocolate chip flavor they sold on St. Patrick’s Day. The fudge was an instant hit, so the Strickland’s began experimenting with old family dessert recipes as well as newer ones back at home. A Southern Living cookbook in hand, Pam read out a praline recipe to Stan who manned the stovetop and tinkered with the ingredients – fresh Georgia pecans, cream, butter and sugar. Once the praline recipe was finalized and approved by taste-testers Jennifer and Tim, it was time to try it out in the store. Pralines were a success! Making small batches of homemade candy is a tradition that is cherished and continues in our retail locations after 50+ years of success! Read their story