Meet Emma Bertuccioli - part 9

 Editor's Note: Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop and also help the Anderson's with social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will hightlight all the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love!  

Ninth in our series, is Emma Bertuccioli.

Emma has been a part of Anderson's Candy Shop Family for a little over two years.  

Much like a few of her co-workers, Emma too started as an "after school kid."  She would come in after she got done at school and pack candy into boxes or put freshly made candy away.  

Emma works in the storefront and packing room.

Emma first remembers learning how to use the cash register along with 

putting away candy and packing. 

Emma prefers all things in dark chocolate! 

Fun times in the packing room gave Emma the fond memory of "having a wrapping caramel race with a few co-workers (I won!)" 

Emma says her favorite holiday at the candy shop is Halloween "because I love the decorations and our chocolate molds."  Her least favorite is Christmas, "we run out of everything which makes packing more stressful!" 

On her days off Emma enjoys spending time with her family and friends, enjoying the nice weather. 

Meet Ethan Luedke - part 10

 

Editor's Note: Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop. I also help the Andersons with social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will hightlight all the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love!  

Tenth in our series, is Ethan Luedke

Ethan is our newest edition to the Anderson's Candy Shop Family.  Ethan started at the shop in the fall of 2021 and works in the packing room and store front.  If you have shopped with us on a weekend in the past year, chances are you have seen Ethan's smiling face!

When he first started, Ethan remembers learning how to stamp the wax paper bags we put candy bars away in and learning how to properly put candy away.

Something Ethan thinks may surprise customers is that not only are the chocolates dipped in the Richmond shop but that "all of the fillings (like Buttercream, Caramel, and Nougat) are made here." 

Ethan doesn't have a favorite when it comes to milk or dark chocolate, for him it's the filling inside the 

chocolate that counts the most! 

Fond memories for Ethan while working at the candy shop include when he and Xander get into discussions about their musical tastes. "Xander has terrible taste," he jokes.

Ethan's favorite holiday to work at the candy shop is Easter. "Easter because of the cream and marshmallow eggs" he says.

And, like a few other of our staff...Valentine's Day is his least favorite, "because of the heart boxes."

(oh yes... so pretty but very difficult to pack up!)

On his days off, Ethan enjoys playing video games.

Meet Xander Novak - part 8

 Editor's Note: Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop. I also help the Andersons with social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will hightlight all the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love!   Eighth in our series, is Xander Novak.

Xander has been a part of the Anderson's Candy Shop Family for a little over 2 years. He works in the storefront with customers and also in the packing room. 

Xander started when he was a student at Richmond Burton Community High School as an "after school kid" helping out on weekends and pitching in on night shifts during our busy holiday seasons. And, he has stayed with Anderson's as he has begun his college journey!

One thing that Xander remembers doing when he first started at the shop was learning to follow our "maps" and pack candy into different boxed assortments.  

Like most of our staff, the number one thing Xander thinks would surprise customers is that the candy is all really handmade at our store in Richmond. 

If you were to spy Xander sneaking a piece of candy for "quality control" you would see he prefers milk chocolate over dark. 

One of Xander's fond memories of working at the shop is "When the ghosts haunted the candy shop in front of my eyes."

  (Oh, Xander... In a building with so much history (yep, we have been making candy here in Richmond since 1926), it's not uncommon to hear the old building creek, or to mistake the whir of the melters or the AC unit kicking on, to be something else ... especially during night shifts during our the holiday rush. )

Xander enjoys working most during the Christmas Season at the candy shop.

 "It's so joyful and we are constantly busy," he says.

 His least favorite holiday is Easter "because of the strange molds." (There are many! More than 20 styles of solid chocolate molded figures! He's right - keeping track of all the different solid chocolate Easter Bunnies is quite the job!) 

On his days off, Xander spends his time with his dog or playing video games.

Meet Rebecca Hile - part 7

 

Editor's Note: Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop. I also help the Andersons with social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will hightlight all the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love!  

Seventh in our series, is Rebecca Hile.

Rebecca has been a part of the Anderson's Candy Shop family for about two years. She works in the packing room putting away chocolates and preparing orders as well as in the storefront.   

One of the first jobs Rebecca remembers doing when she started at the shop was stamping labels on our iconic red and blue candy bar bags and learning how to "put away candy into their appropriate boxes." 

Rebecca thinks customers would be surprised to know just how much "time and labor that is put into making each piece."

Rebecca prefers milk chocolate but does enjoy a few things in dark.  (Ask her when you meet her in the shop!) 

Fond memories Rebecca has had while working at Anderson's include meeting wonderful people 

and making new friends. 

When it comes to holidays at the store, Rebecca says "All the holidays are cool in different ways!"

"Valentine's Day is challenging with packing customer requests into hearts and Christmas is amazing seeing all the production that gets done in the time allowed!" She enjoys watching everyone work hard to make every request possible on time.

On her days off, Rebecca loves being outside enjoying nice weather.  

"Gardening, walking, camping, riding bicycle and motorcycle, mowing grass and square dancing!" are among her favorite things to do. Oh, and she's a farm girl at heart and loves taking care of her chickens, too!

Meet Briana McKee - part 6

 Editor's Note: Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop and also help the Anderson's with social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will hightlight all the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love!  Sixth in our series, is Briana McKee.

Briana (Bree) has been a part of the Anderson's Candy Shop Family for 4 years.  Bree works in just about every room in the shop, minus the Cooking Room.  Her main focus these days has been the Dipping Room, where Bree is the newest Dipper. 

The first thing Bree remembers doing while working at the shop "I learned how to put candy away and how to pack chocolates."  

Something Briana thinks will surprise customers about how our candy is made is "how everything is made by hand and how many different steps it takes to have such amazing candy!"

Bree prefers all things in dark chocolate!

"I have many fond memories while working here," Bree recalls, " but I'd have to say my favorite memory is when Leif was still with us.  His fun and happy personality would brighten up your day and how he would go out of his way to tell you a corky dad joke just to make you smile!"

Briana says her favorite holiday to work is Christmas "because it's constantly busy and fast moving."  Her least favorite time would be summer "because it's really slow." 

On her days off Bree enjoys gardening or  spending time with her husband and three children.  

Meet Nick Anderson - part 5

 Editor's Note: Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop and also help the Anderson's with social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will hightlight all the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love!  

Fifth in our series, is Nick Anderson.

Nick as been a part of the Anderson's Candy Shop Family for over 7 years.  Nick holds the title of Head Cook, he works in the room we call "the Cooking Room" where the insides of the chocolates are made.  Nick originally started at the Candy Shop working in the Packing Room.  

The first thing Nick remembers doing when he first started at the shop was packing pieces 

of candy into boxes.  

Something Nick thinks will surprise customers about how our candy is made is "the amount of time and labor that goes into it.  Most batches take between 45 minutes to 2 hours just to cook, this doesn't include the time it takes to cut the batches, dip the pieces or package." 

Nick prefers milk chocolate when it's not paired with anything, 

otherwise it can depend on what is inside. 

"My nose doesn't work very well." Nick says.  "There is a batch where you need to roast the nuts and the easiest way to tell if it's done is by smell.  I was having trouble with the batch so I called on our intercom for help.  Leif Anderson (my childhood hero) cooked with me side by side.  He told me when it smelled right and I told him when it looked right.  In the moment, we worked as equals."  Nick recalled this as one of his fondest memories while working at the shop.  

Nick's favorite holiday to work "is definitely winter in the Candy Shop."  "That's the season where everyone has to come together and work their hardest.  It's also the season where everyone's colors truly shine."  Nick's least favorite season at the shop is spring, "mostly because of spring cleaning." 

On his days off, Nick enjoys the company of his family and friends.  "In either case (family or friends) we usually play games of all varieties."

Meet Kelly Heersche - part 4

 

 

Editor's Note:  Continuing Meet Me Mondays!  I am Britta Malsch, the Purchasing Manager at Anderson's Candy Shop and I also help the Andersons with the social media duties.  As I enter my 10th year at the store, one of my goals has been to help introduce our family of staff to our family of customers.  I hope you enjoy this series which will highlight the wonderful men and women who work hard to create the Anderson's Candy that you love! Fourth in our series is Kelly Heersche. 

Kelly has been a part of the Anderson's Candy Shop Family for 9 years.  Her main role is as the lead milk chocolate dipper in the dipping room however she sometimes helps in the molding room and has recently expanded her skill set by learning how to work in our packing room and helping customers in the storefront.  

Kelly remembers watching seasoned dippers when she first started working at the candy shop and

thinking "How will I ever get my candy to look like that?" 

Kelly's choice of chocolate is milk chocolate, always. 

Something Kelly thinks would surprise customers about how our candy is made is that it is hand dipped into a "bed of chocolate" on marble slabs built into an old dining table, 

handcrafted by the Anderson Family. 

Fond memories for Kelly consist of laughter in the dipping room and the connections she 

has made with guests in the store. 

Kelly's favorite holiday to work at the candy shop is Christmas.  "I love the season and how busy it is."  "I really don't have a least favorite season, I would have said summer, but this year is different because I am in the storefront for some of it and get to meet all of you and see how happy you are 

when you get your favorite candy." 

On her days off, Kelly enjoys spending time with family and visiting friends.  

She also enjoys sewing and painting.