On Tacoma’s Hilltop, 95-year-old candy maker keeps Easter traditions alive

The deco neon sign atop 924 Martin Luther King Jr. Way reminds Tacoma that some things don’t change.

Right now, the words “Johnson Candy Company,” illuminated in green, pink and yellow at night, proffer the comforting truth — even as, just down the street, hundreds of doctors and nurses, cleaning crews and administrators tackle coronavirus headfirst — that chocolate deserves a place in this world.

Since late March, the shop has been accepting orders over the phone, arranging Easter baskets for curbside pickup and packing boxes to be mailed near and far. Some have been shipped just across the bridge to Gig Harbor.

“There was a little business before the Easter excitement kind of started,” said Bill Johnson, whose grandfather Russell opened the first iteration as a lunch counter down the street in 1925. The candy shop opened in 1949 in its current building. “The phone’s ringing constantly.”

In Easters past, customers would stop by the store to admire the cases full of chocolate eggs filled with coconut or creamy peanut butter, caramels and milk chocolate bunnies, mixing and matching to create custom baskets. This year, Johnson created a singular basket ($25) for easy ordering and pickup at the door.

Inside the store, Liz Beaupied, who joined the company three years ago, said she and her colleagues have kept busy running to the post office for more packing supplies to ship candy, too.

“It’s definitely different,” she said of the closed-door setup, but customers continue to call in orders. Many have been buying Johnson candy for years, but plenty of newcomers saw the shop’s social media posts and want to support local business.

JOHNSON CANDY ONLINE, COMING SOON

Not only is Bill Johnson the main candy maker, alongside one employee, he has also become the de facto social media guru, posting product photos, prices and ordering information on Facebook and Instagram.

“It’s a nice way to reach your customer,” he said, though he admitted it’s a full-time job keeping up with the messaging and the pressure to respond promptly to requests no matter the time of day. With a friend’s help, he hopes to have a website up and running soon.

“I’ve dragged my feet for the longest time, because it’s a lot more work. It takes away from making candy and doing other stuff, like being with my family,” he told The News Tribune late Tuesday night of the forthcoming online shop. “It’s a necessary thing — I know that.”

After a long day of candy making, Johnson was running errands for his dad, now 87 years old and “under house arrest” to avoid contracting COVID-19.

Usually, Ron Johnson would be in and out of the shop, hopping into the chocolate line and managing the books. He would be especially busy this week, an important one for the Johnsons and the candy business in general.

“We’ve definitely weathered all sorts of different times in the area,” said Bill Johnson. “We’re hoping that after Easter, we continue to be able to sell some chocolate, too.”

In 2019, American families spent about $150 on Easter-related treats and decorations, compared to $86 for Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation. More than three-quarters celebrate the holiday in some capacity (even if it’s just eating jelly beans), and an NRF survey from the first few days of April revealed that those numbers haven’t much changed despite the coronavirus.

Customers have been grateful to find the shop open and full of pecan clusters, almond whips and sea salt caramels, said Johnson. Keeping the doors shut and the lights off with no end date in sight could have spelled doom even for this 95-year-old business.

“We’re happy that we’ve been able to keep going,” he said. “We feel fortunate.”

As for the sign, well, it was just refurbished last year by a Tacoma artist who walked into the shop one day and said, ‘Hey, I love your sign, and I’d like to fix it.’”

JOHNSON CANDY COMPANY

▪ 924 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, 253-272-8504

▪ Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; call to order for curbside pickup or shipping through USPS

▪ Details: Check the shop’s Facebook and Instagram for product updates; current menu here

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This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 12:00 PM.