As Christmas draws nears, local businesses are busy helping customers with their gift lists.


Lake Erie Candy Company's first Christmas season is a exciting one as staff works to serve new customers, but thankfully, they've had few issues with little delays or holdups.

"We make a lot of our candy, we also wholesale domestically, a lot of our products are domestically sourced which is great so we don't have to worry about the importing kind of things", said Greg Fornalczyk, owner of Lake Erie Candy Company.

While they have only been at their location at Village West since the summer, Fornalczyk said they've already seen tremendous support this holiday season.

They've had people coming in looking for stocking stuffers or gifts for family or friends. "People in Erie they like new things, they like different things, there's a lot of candy in Erie already with some great chocolatiers, we have something with a little spin, so we have a lot of gourmet candies, a lot of different varieties", said Fornalczyk.

They aren't the only business who has seen continued community support during a challenging year.

Even after 50 years in business, A La Carte, located in Colony Plaza has seen a successful shopping season in 2021.

Mimi Sherwin, the owner of A La Carte said,  "It's been going really well, a step up from last year so we are really happy about that."

They have been selling out of a lot of their inventory fast, especially their serving platters since more people are entertaining this year.

But they have also seen their handful of set backs.

"Lots of delays, today I was trying to frantically get certain sized boxes and gift bags and that's been a real challenge all of a sudden the things I never had to worry about before all of a sudden I am", said Sherwin.

Despite setbacks, there's something special about seeing customers walk through the doors to do their Christmas shopping done at their favorite local shop.

A La Carte is open from 10:00 a.m. until 5:30p.m. on Mondays to Fridays, they are open from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and then 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Lake Erie Candy Company is open from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday to Friday and 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.