In the early 1900’s Ron’s grandmother came to this country from Ireland with the knowledge of how to make candy. She brought with her a slab of marble cut out of the side of a mountain in Belgium. On this table she made many batches of fudge that she sold in St. Augustine, Florida. Later she and Ron’s grandfather had candy stores in various parts of Florida. They made many varieties of candies to sell throughout the first half of the 20th century. They sold these candies out of two wooden candy cases. Their craft was one that was passed on to their grandson.

In the early 1980’s Ron became interested in reviving his grandparent’s craft. He still had the marble table and the two wooden candy cases that had belonged to his grandparents. Ron went searching for someone to teach him the craft that he wanted to perfect. He joined with an existing candy company and went to the fudge capital of the world, Mackinaw Island, Michigan, to learn the art of candy making. He experimented with recipes that were given to him by his grandmother and learned many new ones. Eventually Ron owned his own candy factory in Atlanta, Georgia. He called his enterprise Finnerty O’ Fudge. He sold his candy wholesale to customers around the southeastern part of the United States. He also took his craft to shows around Georgia and entertained festivalgoers with his fudge-making skills.

It was during the early 1990’s that we came to know about Ron and his products. We had just opened a small gift and confectionery shop in Macon, Georgia. We bought candy from Ron to sell in our store. By 1992 we had moved our business to Forsyth, Georgia. We continued to buy Ron’s candy wholesale to sell to our customers. It was also during this time that we opened a small retail outlet in Juliette, Georgia. (Juliette is about eight miles from Forsyth.) The movie “Fried Green Tomatoes” had just been filmed in Juliette the previous year. Tourists from around the world poured into this tiny village to get a glimpse of the movie set, eat at the famous Whistle Stop Cafe, browse in the village shops, and of course buy Ron’s candy! Our outlet, The Courthouse, not only sold candy but also The World’s Best Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade! We sold candy coated popcorn and later created a specialty drink called The Juliette Julep. The Courthouse was manned by Donna’s parents...The Honorary Mayor of Juliette and his wife. They visited and talked with the tourists that came to our quaint little village from every part of the world!

During the summer of 1993, Ron decided to move his family back to Florida. He was going to stop making candy for his wholesale customers in this area! We said, “What are we going to do? Where are we going to buy our candy? We have regular customers!” Ron said, “No problem, y’all can buy my wholesale business. I’ll teach Larry how to make all the candy.” So that is what we did!

First, we had to find a place to cook the candy. We started out in the kitchen of a former restaurant. The front of the restaurant was being used as an antique shop. Ron taught Larry how to make the candy. Larry continued to service wholesale customers as well as make products to sell in Juliette. Eventually, a building came available in downtown Juliette! The shop was on McCrackin Street so we called our new business McCrackin Street Sweets. Ron’s grandmother’s slab of marble continues to be used for working up fresh batches of fudge into 22 ½ pound loaves. We also sell our candy from the antique candy cases that belonged to Ron’s grandparents.

Today, McCrackin Street Sweets manufactures tons of fudge and other candies each year. Our retail shop sells candies to Juliette visitors. We are also famous for Grandma Huber’s Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade, Lemonade Made Right, as well as The Juliette Julep, A Holiday in a Cup! We take our products to area festivals and fairs. We ship candy around the country and have even on occasion shipped it to other parts of the world.

Our business is family owned and operated. We will soon be introducing our family business to the third generation. We hope little Charlie will continue in this lost art of real candy making!
Y’all come see us!