Heilman’s Nuts and Confections

• 1804 S. Westnedge Avenue
• Kalamazoo, MI 49008
• (269) 383-1188
• Website

J and I celebrated six magnificent years together this past weekend.  We sort of started the tradition early on that we don’t go crazy on anniversary gifts.  We pretty much stick to small gifts that fit the traditional present for that year’s anniversary.

The sixth year traditional gift is actually two things.  One of those being iron.  That’s a hard one.  J doesn’t cook much, so cast iron cookware wouldn’t have been very thoughtful nor does she wear a lot of jewelry so things like bracelets wouldn’t have done much either.  I racked my brain for weeks before finally coming up with a solution.  I would use the iron part of the gift as a delivery vehicle for the other traditional gift….candy.

I’m not the kind of guy to just go buy a big heart filled with candy and try to pass that off as a gift.  I wanted to take advantage of some of the great local candy shops we have in Kalamazoo, so I picked two of them and went with a unique gift from each one.

My first stop was Heilman’s Nuts and Confections on Westnedge Avenue right at the corner with Howard Street in the Southside Neighborhood.  The shop is mostly a production facility as they do a lot of the business online, but there is a small, unassuming retail area on the north side of the building.

I was probably the first customer of the day showing up not long after their 8:30 AM opening time after I dropped my daughter off at school.  I knew she couldn’t keep a secret, so I had to do all my candy shopping while I was alone. 

I picked Heilman’s as one of my stops because I was specifically looking for sugar-free candy.  They have a large selection of the sugar-free stuff in one of their display cases, but they also sell pre-packaged gift boxes that were on a shelf near the back of the store.

The incredibly helpful employee pointed me to the right section then explained what each one was.  It was early, I was tired, and all chocolate looks the same to me, so I thanked her for the help then grabbed a 1 lb. box of assorterd sugar-free chocolate and a small bag of sugar-free gummy bears.

The chocolates and gummy bears rang up at exactly $26.  I spent about five minutes in this delicious store only because I had a nap waiting for me at home.

Since they were J’s present, I haven’t actually tried any of the chocolates that I purchased that day, but I know the first thing she told me is that I should have just bought an entire box of the sea-salt caramels.  She loved those and I noticed this morning the box is almost empty, so they must have been a hit.

1 lb. Box of Assorted Sugar-Free Chocolates

Sugar-Free Gummie Bears