Sweet

July 03, 2009 01:14 am

— By Eric Dama
Transcript Staff Writer
Candy has long been one of the American public's favorite treats.
For Gyan and Maurice Galoob, it has represented something much more.
Owners of the local gift shop The Candy Basket, 2001 W. Main St., the Galoobs are preparing to celebrate their 20th year of business, and things have never tasted better.
"I can hardly believe we've been residents of Carriage Plaza for 20 years," Gyan said. "I will always remember the week we moved. It was one of the most stressful times in our lives. And here we are, 20 years later."
Aside from the myriad of choices of candy offered at the Galoob's store -- chocolates, toffees, gummies, sours and taffies, to name just a few -- the shelves also are stocked with everything from humorous and irreverent magnets and greeting cards to glassware available for monogramming.
But the inventory wasn't always this diverse at The Candy Basket.
The Galoobs first bought the store, which was originally located in Moore, in 1984 from Gyan's brother, Jared, after whom the store was named at the time -- Jared's Ltd.
"We totally outgrew it, we were bursting at the seams in that space," said Gyan, who was driving down the highway one day and saw a sign for an open lease in Norman.
On July 10, 1989, the pair opened for business in a 1,250-square-feet location -- a sizeable increase from the 800 square feet in Moore.
"After the boxes, furniture, etc. were delivered to our Carriage Plaza store, I walked in on a Sunday afternoon, saw a store stuffed with boxes to unpack, and just sat down and cried!" Gyan said. "It was such an overwhelming challenge, but we made it."
Ten years later, in September of 1999, the store next to The Candy Basket moved out. The Galoobs, very eager to expand, jumped at the opportunity to add another 1,450 square feet to their store.
Over the years, The Candy Basket has seen many different themes and layouts, going from a Victorian theme with lots of tea pots to a more relaxed feel with products that weren't so serious.
"After 9/11, we just wanted stuff in here that would make you laugh," Gyan said. "That's when we started adding fun things and changed the store to about one-half candy and one-half gifts."
One thing that hasn't changed is the Galoob's close relationship with their customers -- The Candy Basket has a mailing list containing more than 9,000 people.
Maurice said that the couple are on a first-name basis with most of their customers -- and have become close friends with a lot of them -- but if by chance they don't remember a customer's name, that doesn't mean he or she is forgotten.
"If for some reason we don't remember a customer's name, then we remember what they like," Maurice said. "We'll say, 'You're the Hot Tamales guy,' or 'You're the one who likes gummy bears.' Our customers our very important to us."
And while the couple has seen plenty of changes over the past 20 years, one thing is certain, and it's the main reason the Galoobs have managed to stay around all these years.
"Everybody has a sweet tooth. Everybody still wants candy," Gyan said. "We love our store. It's a sweet business to be in."