SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – October may be considered the scariest season of the year, but it’s also one of the sweetest seasons of the year too. Halloween’s hordes of kids trick-or-treating consistently scares up record candy sales every October. There’s two places to satisfy your sweet tooth in downtown Syracuse: Sweet on Chocolate and The Sweet Praxis.
Sweet On Chocolate owner Adam Mazzoni says autumn is a good time for chocolate, because the cool weather brings more people inside the shop. Autumn is when sales start to increase after the slower summer months.
“This time of year, the weather’s getting more cooler,” said Mazzoni. “It’s becoming more chocolate weather.”
For Sweet On Chocolate, October may not be the busiest time of year, but it starts the holiday rush that continues until Valentine’s.
“Fall signifies the start of the holiday season,” said Mazzoni.
Halloween has totally taken over Sweet on Chocolate, from the decorations to the chocolate on display.
“We have a lot of themed items,” said Mazzoni. “A little pumpkin patch. Spooky things, like witches, goblins, ghosts. The fall flavors that come along with Halloween. We’ve got pumpkin spice, caramel apple. We’ve got butter pecan.”
The Sweet Praxis is also experimenting with fall colors and flavors as Syracuse goes into the holiday season. The whimsical Halloween theme inspired treats like the S’cream puff, cake “eye” balls, and the Death by Chocolate tart – all treats which are on display at the local bakery.
“There’s lots of really, really fun ways that we just get to be silly in the kitchen and this is the perfect time of year to do it,” Jennifer Walls, Owner of the Sweet Praxis, said.
And just like Sweet on Chocolate, the Sweet Praxis expects a rush of customers grabbing sweets for holiday parties and gifts in the coming months.
“The whole holiday season, just from here forward, is going to be go, go, go,” said Walls.
Walls said the treats at Sweet Praxis are likely too big and expensive to handed out like regular candy to children celebrating Halloween on October 31st. Instead, the cupcakes, tarts, and donuts are likely being given as gifts to family and friends.
“For sure, people who are buying these are really hand selecting things that they want to share with people they love.”
