Niles candy shop one of few left still making Candy Canes by hand this Christmas

NILES, Mich. - Turns out you don’t have to go all the way to the North Pole for handmade candy canes during the holidays.

While they are about as rare as Rudolph’s nose, you can find them at Veni’s Sweet Shop in Niles.

Veni’s Sweet Shop has been a Niles tradition since 1910, but the tradition of the candy canes came over a century later with Linda Skwarcan and Sandy Bennitt.

They have been doing the laborious process by hand together since 2017.

The Duo walked ABC57’s Jackie Bauer through the steps that are almost as satisfying to watch and smell as the treats are to eat.

This year they completed more than 3511 canes of 18 different flavors including anise, clove, bubblegum, cotton candy, butterscotch, sassafras, cherry, lemon, lime, orange, raspberry, tutti fruit, sour apple, watermelon, cinnamon, spearmint, wintergreen and peppermint.

The striped sweets hit the shelves November 1 and are sold through the Holiday Season.

Veni’s is open Monday through Saturday 9am to 7pm and Sunday’s 12pm to 5pm.

They’ll be open Christmas Eve 9am to 5pm and closed Christmas Day.