Wave Ryder Sweet Shoppe
By: Riley Hartnett
The new sweet shoppe on Main Street is hard to miss with its blue and white exterior and the delicious scents of their food, and candles as well as their candy that waft out. The Wave Ryder Sweet Shoppe opened on October 31, Halloween. The owner of the shoppe, Gilbert Woodly, stated that he had the idea of the shoppe in August and bought the building no later than September 9. He most certainly wasted no time in preparing the shop, or opening it.
Mr. Woodley owns the Wave Ryder DJ business in Indiana, which is where the name Wave Ryder came from. Mr. Woodley said that the idea to sell unique vintage items that you don't see often came from him wanting everyone to come in and see toys from their childhood. He wanted to have his shoppe feel as nostalgic as possible. He chooses the items he sells based on whether or not they are common enough to be found in other stores and whether it has the childhood nostalgia that he desires his customers to feel.
The Wave Ryder Sweet Shop is a family business with only Mr.woodley and his daughter working the shop. They have no other locations now but only the future will tell if they open another location. On an average day Mr. Woodley stated that they can receive anywhere between 3 dozen people to a line out the door. The business most certainly has had no problem with sales so far. Some of the top sold items are their Penn State ice cream, their concession stand items (such as pretzels, lemonade, nachos, cotton candy, hot cocoa, coffee, and kettle corn), the gifts and vintage items, and of course the candy. One of the most favored candies is their slime lickers. Mr. Woodley and his sweet shoppe have certainly been off to a wondrous start. And to end this off with a wise quote from the owner himself, “There's no right time to start. You just have to start.”
Nov. 29, 2022