The Nostalgic Candy Company That Gives Off Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Vibes
In the heart of Amish Country in Kidron, Ohio, Lehman's is a superstore for supplies to live off-grid and self-sufficiently. Jay Lehman opened his store in 1955 to support area residents living without modern-day conveniences and to preserve and pass down important knowledge that was disappearing with advances in technology. The homesteader's mega mart sells everything from oil lamps to gardening supplies, canners to composting toilets.
The store is built with upcycled wood from old barns and filled with antique butter churns and farm equipment. Building on embracing days gone by, Lehman's retro candy selection is pure nostalgia. Fans of the candies they enjoyed as kids (or those their grandparents loved) will thrill at finding Cherry Mash, Cow Tales, Claeys hard candies, Moon Pies, and Mallo Cups.
Lehman's packages and sells candies under its own label, too. They make chocolate-covered pretzels, chocolate-covered almonds and peanuts, chocolate-covered blueberries and cherries, malted milk balls, hand-wrapped soft caramels, French burnt peanuts, their signature Amish Church Mints (made so kids can sit through long church services), and homemade fudge. Their melt-in-your-mouth fudge has a cult following and comes in seven flavors: chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate walnut, peanut butter, butter pecan, chewy praline, and salted caramel. One five-star reviewer says, "The fudge here is definitely the best we've ever had. We've ordered several times now."
Lehman's candy aisle will take you back to the days when grandma kept a crystal bowl of candies in the living room. While Lehman's gives people tools for self-sufficient living, there's a popular restaurant chain that capitalizes on the warm, fuzzy feelings of the old days, too.
There's another company that runs on the notion of simpler times
Cracker Barrel is a restaurant-store hybrid that's built its success by drawing on comforting, nostalgic feelings. Founder Dan Evins opened the first Cracker Barrel in 1969 in tiny Lebanon, Tennessee. Fifty-seven years later, Cracker Barrel boasts an impressive 660 restaurants in 44 states.
Cracker Barrel's dining room is only a part of the experience. Like Lehman's, Cracker Barrel has a retail component that's rooted in the sentimental. Cracker Barrel's old country store doesn't stock practical items, though — it focuses on gifts, housewares, holiday decor, clothing, garden knick-knacks, and of course, candy. With a focus on candies enjoyed decades ago rather than today's most popular treats, you'll find many of the same nostalgic candies Lehman's stocks at Cracker Barrel's Old Country Store. Cracker Barrel also sells some unique treats like stick and rock crystal candy, and its own brand of peanut brittle. Could Cracker Barrel have been inspired by Lehman's? We'll never know, but one thing is certain: Its popularity is rooted in the way the brand romanticizes the past.