Rocky road comes to end for Ottawa chocolatiers

OTTAWA — Hunt Brothers Homestyle Baking and Candy Shop in Ottawa, Ohio, is closing its doors on December 31, 2022.

Established in 2014 the business ran by Jason Hunt has decided to close the brick and mortar store located at 110 N. Walnut St. in Ottawa.

According to Facebook “It was not an easy decision, but with changes in our full time careers and hectic family lives, we can no longer give the attention to the store that we would like.”

Hunt Brothers’ Candy is scheduling fundraisers for next year but even that will have a different look.

As with most businesses it has not been “business as usual” for the store through the past months. Last summer there was trouble securing chocolate. The store found enough chocolate in the spring that carried them through the summer. At one point the store was unable to secure white chocolate. There were problems getting caramel. And then once the caramel was found, it had to be changed so it was the right consistency. At the point where they had the chocolate, the store couldn’t get packaging.

Employee Linda March said, “It isn’t like it used to be.”

The website claimed that they used “only the finest ingredients and all chocolates are hand dipped in-house. We constantly seek to improve our recipes for a wide range of delectable treats, including caramel turtles, rocky road clusters, and various flavors of bark. We have a tasty selection of cookies, cupcakes and various other baked goods as well.”

Soothing that sweet tooth will be a bit more complicated after the closing Saturday.

Reach Dean Brown at 567-242-0409

Dean Brown
Dean Brown joined The Lima News in 2022 as a reporter. Prior to The Lima News, Brown was an English teacher in Allen County for 38 years, with stops at Perry, Shawnee, Spencerville and Heir Force Community School. So they figured he could throw a few sentences together about education and business in the area. An award-winning photographer, Brown likes watching old black and white movies, his dog, his wife and kids, and the four grandkids - not necessarily in that order. Reach him at [email protected] or 567-242-0409.