Words with The Candy Queen of Circuit Avenue
Marguerite Cook at Good Ship Lollipop serves up Old School Nostalgia and Classic Treats
By Chaiel Schaffel
The Candy Queen of Circuit Avenue doesn’t sit on a golden throne bejeweled with rubies and sapphires, yelling out orders and royal decrees. She doesn’t sit on a golden throne with just rubies, or just sapphires either. She doesn’t even sit on a golden throne, or a throne at all. In fact, most of the time she’s on her feet, stirring a kettle and making sure her chocolate turns out just right. This royal figure is, of course, the one and only Marguerite Cook, and the Good Ship Lollipop candy store on Circuit Avenue is her kingdom. Her vast selection of childhood sweets spans several generations, from your grandparent’s pennycandy to those sugary treats from the drugstore you always liked but could never find once you grew up. Her Circuit Avenue storefront in Oak Bluffs is a multicolored explosion of every type of imaginable candy, from the most common supermarket candy to products that has long since disappeared elsewhere. As sunlight breaches the windows, the bright array of confectionery is moved to take on a life of its own. “Old-Fashioned,” would be the right adjective to describe this place. The shop is a window to a simpler time. And on the shelves Marguerite doesn’t just sell antique toys and the candies of yesteryear, but a momentary escape to the carefree happiness of life as a kid.
This Week On Martha’s sat down with Mrs. Cook to discuss her life, her business, and everything candy.
Remind me again, what is the story behind your shop’s name?
I’ve always liked Shirley Temple, so that’s where the “Good Ship Lollipop” comes in, that’s the top of my sign outside, and the [Steam Ship Authority ferry] M/V Islander was being decommissioned when I opened the store, so that’s the bottom of the sign under the lollipop itself.
When did you open up, and what about your customers has changed since then? What about your store?
I opened up here in this building in November of 2006. And as for the customers… the children have grown! The grownups still come in too, they say things like, “We can’t wait, we had to come to the store before getting to our house here,” so we’ve established ourselves pretty well. Very many repeat customers.
What product in here are you most proud of? What would you recommend the highest?
My chocolate. I’m very proud of my chocolate.
-…You learned to do that by yourself, right?
Ah, no. Brenda Mastromonaco, who is part of the Hilliard family, [a renowned Boston-area chocolatier family] she actually taught me how to make chocolates. She’s part of the family that’s owned this building since the early 40’s. Her family’s been in the business for a very long time, so when her dad asked me to move my little store here, he told me he would throw her in, and the tempering kettles to use until I learned how to make the chocolate myself. And she does a good deal of the chocolate making for me.
How did you get to the store? What did you do before?
I worked for the town as a tax collector for twenty three years. I always had a jar of candy on my desk for people to take, and after I retired, people on the street, the taxpayers and such would say, “There’s no candy on the counter, there’s no big smiles on their faces, what are we going to do? ”After I retired didn’t know what I was going to do with myself, so I made myself up a little bucket list. This was part of the bucket list. I told them back “I’m going to open up a candy store,” And I did.
Is the act of making sweets and art or a science?
[Firmly] It’s an art. We put artful care into everything we do. An awful lot of care.
And it requires a creative flair?
Yes, if we wanted to make something a little different, we could certainly do that.
Do you enjoy deviating from the norm and creating new things?
For the most part I do stick to certain things that I know people like. At times, we’ll discuss and say “Well, this isn’t selling so well, maybe we should stop making it,” or “People seem to like this, we should make more of it,” etc.
What’s an innovation that you made that you really enjoy?
The Turtles. Caramel, nuts, and dipped in chocolate, sometimes with sea salt. They’re our biggest sellers.
And of the non-innovations, what’s your favorite?
The oreo cookies, dipped in chocolate, those are really good. We also have dried fruits, nuts, and the like. We carry vegan and gluten-free, and sugar free too, I have someone who makes that for me.
It seems like you put a lot of effort into making the store ‘Vintage.’
Exactly, that’s exactly what I wanted, an old fashioned candy store. We carry vintage candy, vintage toys.
What does that yield from your customers that are a little older?
When they come in, you should hear them. They are just like the little children. You know, “Oh look! Here’s a Skybar!” And then they start with the questions, “I bet you don’t have a Mallowbar,” you know, and they’re very happy when they find it.
Do they adults respond to the toys as well?
They do , I don’t carry a whole lot but I carry enough. If they’re at a restaurant with a small child, they might come in and grab a Write-A-Mat, on one side of it is the picture and the other side is blank so the kids can color their own.
Do you have a close relationship with the local dentist or not?
[chuckle], He and I get along very well. His staff likes to get a box of chocolates not and then.
Whats the best deal in the store?
Little old fashioned candies that we have, I started selling them two for a quarter.
What’s next on the bucket list?
Well I had three things on my bucket list:
Number one is that I live on Martha’s Vineyard and I don’t know how to swim. So the first thing was to swim with the dolphins. When me and my husband went to Florida, I surprised him by taking us to Seaworld, and swimming with the dolphins. I still don’t know how to swim. But I was able to swim with the dolphins! I almost drowned, that did me in, so I didn’t pursue it. People have tried to teach me, but I panic, so. But I didn’t panic with the dolphins!
Number two was to open a candy store. Did that.
And number three was to visit Italy. My family is from Italy, most of my family has been, and I have not.
Anything else you want to say?
I truly do love what I do. People keep saying, “Don’t you think it’s time you retired?” But I just hate to let go because I love it so much. I love hearing the comments when people come in, seeing different things they saw when they were little kids. It’s just so great watching the kids here grow up and come back with families of their own.
