For Old Town small business week, each day this week we will be honoring a small business that has been in the neighborhood for over 15 years. Today we feature The Fudge Pot, who has been making Chicago sweeter since 1963!

 

Tell Us About The Fudge Pot.

The Fudge Pot is a third-generation candy store with four generations of candy making history. Learning from his uncle Tom Dattalo, James A. Dattalo learned the science of candy making while working production at The Mars Candy Company. James eventually moved on to work at Candy Masters and Gene Garretts Chocolates before beginning a venture of his own. In 1963, James opened The Fudge Pot with the help of two partners and his family. The Old Town neighborhood and its unique energy turned out to be perfect environment for a new candy store. At that time, fudge was the store’s only product, hence the name. Through the years and changing trends The Fudge Pot has added many chocolate creations, caramel apples, chocolate frozen bananas, and over 1,000 different chocolate molded figures. James’s son David took over operations in 1983, and began working with his son James in 2004.

What are some lessons and rewarding moments you’ve experienced from running your small business?

You never get tired of hearing a customer praise your creations. Someone saying that a new product you’ve been trying to perfect is “just like their grandmother used to make” lives in the heart.

Watching the neighborhood grow and evolve throughout the years has been a sight to see. There are remnants of the funky 1960s in the neighborhood styles if you know where to look, but this neighborhood has been reborn more times than I can believe, and its evolved into a wonderful and important part of what makes Chicago so special.

We might seem like a small candy store, but we’ve endured many challenges through our long history. Running any small business is difficult and we honestly couldn’t have made it this far without an extensive network of family and close friends that have helped us grow throughout the years.

What are somethings people don’t realize about The Fudge Pot?

Every so often someone asks us or even approaches us with an offer to start a second store or expand our operations to become a larger brand. We’ve never really considered it a desirable option. We’re doing what we do well where we are, and while we’d love to be in more locales and serve more customers, it makes a trip to The Fudge Pot a little bit more special.

What brought you to Old Town?

Coming to Old Town in the 1960s was like adding a whole new set of colors to your pain pallet. It was a national destination full of energy and life. Things waned here and there throughout our years here, but the community that we’re serving now is just as accepting as it was to us back then. Old Town has a different personality, but it seems just as fitting to who we are as it was back then.

Why have you stayed?

Yes, Old town has changed since our early years, no more Wax Museum, Ripleys Believe It Or Not, the quaintness of Piper’s Alley, restaurants such as Chances R, Paul Bunyans, El Griffon, That Steak Joint, Bratskellars. There are a lot more unique bars and unique restaurants though, there are some wonderful specialty stores, and certainly excellent theaters. Instead of just a tourist destination, it has become a neighborhood where a strong communities have emerged and is a wonderful place to live, shop, and enjoy.