DOWAGIAC — If a visitor were to walk into Caruso’s Candy and Soda Shop on Front Street in Dowagiac this week, they would be met with a multitude of spring-friendly pastel colors and a display shelf filled with big ears and friendly faces, just waiting to be eaten.

“This one is my favorite, with the really big ears,” said owner Julie Johnson, pointing to a midsize chocolate bunny, with large ears and a small body. “It’s the one I got when I was younger.”

Caruso’s is once again selling chocolate bunnies, chickens and crosses for the Easter season. The bunnies, which range in price from $1 to $35, are a tradition for many people in Dowagiac, Johnson said. Each year, the store makes around 500 bunnies in the two weeks before Easter Sunday.

“It’s been a tradition for many families for many generations to get a Caruso’s chocolate bunny for Easter,” she said. “People can get that same style of bunny they got when they were little, and they want to carry that on with their children.”

Showing off the wide array of bunnies, from small and dainty to large, dotted with colorful jelly beans, Johnson said that she has customers from all over the country purchasing Caruso’s chocolate bunnies. On the day of interview, she was completing orders for customers in Oklahoma, North Carolina and Texas.

Part of the appeal of Caruso’s chocolate bunnies, Johnson said, is the variety, something a customer won’t necessarily get if they buy a bunny from a grocery store or convenience store.  Not only do the bunnies range in size and shape, but they all come in a choice of milk, white or dark chocolate.

“We’ve always had that variety, but the dark chocolate has been more popular in recent years because we are all trying to be a little bit healthier,” Johnson said.

What also makes the confections unique is the fact that each bunny is solid chocolate, as opposed to hollow, which a customer may find in a bunny that was produced in a large factory.

“Each bite is solid chocolate, which sets it apart from your drug store chocolate,” Johnson said. “The chocolate itself has a better taste, too, as the chocolate is of a higher quality.”

Johnson has been receiving chocolate bunnies from her family store since she was young, and can remember the first time she took part in the tradition of making one.

“I was probably a teenager when they let me make my first one,” she recalled. “I think they are really fun to make. … I like the satisfaction of the end product and seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they get [the bunny].”

Caruso’s also makes a variety of other Easter candies, including chocolate nests, so even if a chocolate bunny is not someone’s speed, they can still get in on the tradition of Caruso’s chocolate for the holiday, Johnson said.

“We have something for everyone,” she said. “At the end of the day, everyone loves to get a chocolate bunny for Easter and everybody loves to bite the ears off.”