Seeing faces light up with joy when they ate his chocolates gave Javier Santiago purpose. Now as the new owner of Preston’s Candy and Ice Cream in Burlingame, he hopes to reignite the city’s sweet tooth.
Stepping inside the 1950’s-style ice cream and candy store, with its checkerboard floors and old-timey wallpaper, evokes a nostalgia that seems to be lost to big brand candy makers. And for Santiago, the nostalgia of candy making and how it makes people feel is why he does it.
“I remember this customer found the candy in my store and he was so happy he gave me a hug and said, ‘Oh thank you for making it because this one I have been looking to find for 12 years.’ And this is something that is special to him and for me it makes me feel special too that I can provide that memory for him,” Santiago said.
While the previous owner, Irene Preston, struggled through COVID and was forced to sell, Santiago looks to revitalize the business and breathe new life into one of Broadway’s oldest businesses. The shop was first opened in 1946 by Art Preston and purchased by Irene Preston, who had no relationship to the shop founder, in 1997.
The storefront of the 1950’s-style ice cream and candy store at 1170 Broadway in Burlingame.
Nick Mazzoni/Daily Journal
Customers who come into the store now with their children often tell stories of how they used to come in as a child themselves and how the candy store has a special place in their hearts, Santiago said.
Candy making is a labor of love Santiago learned from his mother, he said. Growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico, Santiago used to watch her make tortillas for breakfast every morning.
“When she cooks she doesn’t talk, she just concentrates on what she is doing,” Santiago said. “But she would always pass me something to eat and so, I loved it.”
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Santiago took a page out of his mother’s cookbook. Every morning, he gets to Preston’s around 6 a.m. and starts cooking.
“This is my therapy,” he said as he swirled a large wooden cooking paddle around a caramel-filled brass bowl first gifted to the original owner by San Francisco chocolatier Douglas Shaw to whom Art Preston apprenticed.
All of Santiago’s chocolate is made in-house and he offers an array of treats such as truffles, chocolate covered s’mores, toffee, peanut brittle, caramel apples, rocky road chocolate chunks, a variety of chocolate bars and peppermint chews.
However, he said he will make just about anything a customer asks for. The store also sells ice cream and Santiago has been working with his vendor to add in his chocolates and candies into the ice cream to make it more exclusive.
The store will be having a grand reopening party on Aug. 19 where Santiago will be passing out samples of his candies. Small ice cream scoops will be sold for $3.
Preston’s Candy and Ice Cream is at 1170 Broadway, Burlingame. Go to https://prestonscandyshop.com/ for more information.
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(1) comment
Grateful that he is taking the risk to keep this landmark store alive in Burlingame.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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