See’s Candies at Hillsdale Shopping Center celebrates 70 years: San Mateo location opened just after mall was constructed

In addition to the Hillsdale shop, See’s locations are scattered throughout the Peninsula, including Redwood City and Burlingame.

The Hillsdale location launched in 1956, just a couple years after the open-air shopping center originally opened and has been a success since the start.

Deanna Adams, who works in San Mateo, comes to the Hillsdale location often, however, she has fond memories of growing up near the South City factory. She remembers waiting for trucks to finish emptying chocolate so her and other children from the neighborhood could scrape up the leftovers.

“When we would come home from school, we would see the chocolate tanker truck. It would come into the factory and all of us children would run home from school and get a bowl and bring it back to the truck and wait in line until it was all empty,” she said. “It was like a movie. I have a lot of good memories with [See’s].”

The event on Friday drew a line wrapping around the corner, with See’s employees handing out samples of candy and lollipops to patient customers. The celebration also featured prize wheels, scavenger hunts and prizes. Customers can choose from the typical variety of candy, including some of their most popular treats, such as the Bordeaux or scotchmallows, marshmallow and caramel dipped in dark or milk chocolate.

Daniel Martinez has worked at See’s since 2011 and been the manager at the Hillsdale location for about 10 years. He said the event is a way to thank everyone that’s made the store successful for so long.

“Some people will tell you candy is a need and some people will tell you it’s a want, and I think the crowd here shows you that it is very much a need for a lot of our guests,” Martinez said. “A big part of that is that we really hold our quality to a really high standard.”