Iconic Peppermint Place storefront closes its doors
Shoppers peruse the final sales at Peppermint Place on its closing day Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, in American Fork. After years of being open to the public, Peppermint Place in American Fork is closing its doors; it served as one of the premier candy factory outlets in Utah County. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Shoppers peruse the final sales at Peppermint Place on its closing day Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, in American Fork. After years of being open to the public, Peppermint Place in American Fork is closing its doors; it served as one of the premier candy factory outlets in Utah County. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Shoppers peruse the final sales at Peppermint Place on its closing day Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, in American Fork. After years of being open to the public, Peppermint Place in American Fork is closing its doors; it served as one of the premier candy factory outlets in Utah County. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Shoppers peruse the final sales at Peppermint Place on its closing day Friday, Dec. 30, 2016 in American Fork. After years of being open to the public, Peppermint Place in American Fork is closing its doors; it served as one of the premier candy factory outlets in Utah County. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Shoppers peruse the final sales at Peppermint Place on its closing day Friday, Dec. 30, 2016 in American Fork. After years of being open to the public, Peppermint Place in American Fork is closing its doors; it served as one of the premier candy factory outlets in Utah County. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Shoppers peruse the final sales at Peppermint Place on its closing day Friday, Dec. 30, 2016 in American Fork. After years of being open to the public, Peppermint Place in American Fork is closing its doors; it served as one of the premier candy factory outlets in Utah County. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Alaina Hall, 7, left, and her brother Caleb, 4, browse Kencraft's new Peppermint Place candy shop in American Fork Wednesday, May 8, 2013. MARK JOHNSTON, Daily Herald
Peppermint Place, the storefront for Kencraft candy in American Fork, closed its doors for good Friday afternoon.
The store was a retail location for Kencraft candy, which started in 1969 and was an icon in Alpine for most of those decades. In order to consolidate its factory production, Kencraft moved to American Fork in 2013. The American Fork storefront housed a viewing window where customers could watch these employees decorating candy frogs, hearts, teddy bears, ducks, lollipops and other confections.
Debbie Deveraux, an Alpine resident who worked in the store for 14 years, felt it was the end of an era Friday.
“So many people that have come in, it was a family tradition to come here at Christmas. Many kids came through on field trips. I’ll miss being around the people, seeing their excitement, and the things little kids say as they come through the door. They think they are in Candyland, and in a way, it really is,” she said. “It’s sad to see that something has to end that means so much to the people around here.”
Most of the shelves were bare Friday, and customers carted out candy by the box, choosing their favorite candy canes, chocolate bars and lollipops. Even the shelves themselves were for sale.
According to Kencraft information, though the store is closing, the candy factory will remain open. Kencraft will continue selling products online.
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