This past May, my family purchased our forever home in Historic Havre de Grace and as luck would have it – we are four houses down from what my three-year old refers to as the “Candy House.”
Bomboy’s Candy, established in 1978, has become an icon in Havre de Grace. For the past 42 years, they have been serving the community delicious, handmade chocolates.
This past week, I met with Kathy Bomboy-Casteel, a second-generation owner to learn their story and tour the facility.
Stepping inside Bomboy’s Candy, you are immediately hit with the most wonderful aroma of chocolate. Every season, there are new offerings from heart shaped chocolate lollipops for Valentine’s Day to Chocolate Santas for Christmas. They also make fudge, toffees, brittles and jellies.
The Bomboy family has an interesting story about how they fell into the chocolate business. Barry Bomboy started out his career in the oil refinery business. Newly married, Barry and Jean were relocated to St. Croix and later Iran for work. With the unrest in Iran, they decided to return to the states in 1977 and Barry began his job search.
Relatives in New Jersey owned a candy store and told the Bomboys that they would be happy to teach them how to make candy. Barry happily took them up on the offer.
An avid hunter, Barry stumbled across a small building for sale in Havre de Grace while flipping through the Bargaineer magazine while on a hunting trip.
They purchased the building on Market Street, which is now the home of Bomboy’s Ice Cream in 1978. The building had changed hands several times – once an ice cream parlor and then a laundromat.
The Bomboys quickly learned the art of chocolate making and held their grand opening in May of 1978. A month later, Barry and Jean welcomed their first child.
While Bomboy’s Candy has grown over the years and the building has expanded, the way they make chocolate has remained the same – small batches using original recipes.
In 1999, the Bomboys purchased land across the street and built a new store. In 2000, Bomboy’s Candy moved into the new store and in 2000, Bomboy’s Ice Cream opened in the original candy shop.
While I knew Bomboy’s made their own chocolate, I did not realize they had an entire chocolate making factory in the basement. I was surprised to find an entire team hand painting chocolate bunnies and eggs in preparation for Easter. Bomboy’s Candy uses European chocolate molds known for their intricate designs and durability. Kathy shared that Easter is her favorite holiday – she loves all of the brightly colored chocolates. Each Easter they make over 1,000 chocolate bunnies.
It is apparent from chatting with Kathy that she is proud to be a part of the family business and truly enjoys the art of candy making. “There’s a science to it – you need to make sure everything tastes good, but honestly it is just fun,” Casteel stated. Her favorite product is the milk chocolate strawberry cream and she never gets tired of taste testing their chocolates.
From the time she was a little girl, she knew she wanted to be a part of the family business and she and her dad made chocolates together. “I used to tell my parents that I wanted to take over the candy store and maybe if they were lucky they could live upstairs,” Casteel laughs.
Well, Kathy did luck out. When Bomboy’s Candy moved across the street, they built apartments on top of the store, where Barry and Jean live today. When Kathy welcomed her first child, Jean stepped away from the business to help raise her grandkids. Kathy joked that since her two boys and her brother’s two girls were born – every day has been “Bring your Kids to Work Day.”
Like many small businesses, the pandemic threw them for a loop, but they quickly put their heads together and shifted as best as possible. They added two takeout windows at Bomboy’s Ice Cream and focused on their online store and shipping. They’ve been lucky – even with the global pandemic, their loyal customers and the community have continued to support their favorite small town chocolate shop. This past year, they shipped to all 50 states, which was a first.
Barry continues to be very hands on – his passion for chocolate making has stayed strong all these years. “The family jokes that the candy shop is his first-born child,” Kathy said. His favorite chocolate creation is the Mudpuppy – a delicious trio of creamy peanut butter, caramel and toffee.
Kathy shared that the most rewarding part of her job is hearing everyone’s stories. “We love when people come in and share how Bomboy’s has become a part of their family tradition. Many remember coming in with their grandparents and now they bring their children,” she said.
Bomboy’s Candy makes Havre de Grace an even sweeter place to live and we look forward to many more years of chocolate making (and eating).