DOWAGIAC — On Sept. 22, 1922, Antonio and Emilia Caruso officially opened Caruso’s Candy Kitchen. Fast forward to today, almost 97 years later, and the same building is still in the family. Only now, Antonio’s granddaughter, Julie Johnson, is in charge. She continues to preserve Antonio’s legacy and ensure the art of candy making lives on for many more generations to enjoy.

Johnson led a lecture called, “Almost a Century of Candy making: A History of Caruso’s Candy Kitchen,” as part of the Dowagiac Area History Museum’s 2019 fall lecture series Wednesday evening.

“Candy making is not easy,” Johnson said during a lecture to an audience of about 60 guests at the Dowagiac Area History Museum, as she shared the history of Caruso’s.

Both Johnson’s grandparents came from a small town in Italy and immigrated to the U.S. at different times to help with family businesses. Antonio worked for a candy maker in Holland before he opened up his own shop in Grand Haven.

“The guy [Antonio] was working for in Holland, said, ‘Here, you are going to need recipes to open your store,’” Johnson said. “He gave a copy of his book to Antonio, and that’s where all of our recipes we are still using today come from.”

On Sept., 14, 1922, the Carusos bought the Chicago Candy Kitchen in downtown Dowagiac.

After the couple bought the store, they closed for a few days to remodel. They also changed the name to Caruso’s Candy Kitchen. The interior looks pretty much the same today, Johnson said.

“When you step into Caruso’s, it’s like stepping into the past,” she said.

Through the business’s 97 years, some items have stayed the same, such as original recipes, but ownership of the store has been passed down from generations.

When Antonio retired, he handed the store down to Bill Rutherford, who was married to Johnson’s aunt, Julia Caruso. When Rutherford retired, his daughter, Mary “Butch” Myers, took over the store. In 2003, it became too much for Myers to handle, so Johnson and her sister, Jane Wright, stepped into help. By the time 2005 rolled around, the sisters purchased the building from Myers and continued to run the store. In 2013, Wright decided running Caruso’s was not the route she wanted to go.

“And here I am,” Johnson said, as she faced the crowd and explained how Caruso’s keeps things nostalgic. “All my recipes are pretty much everything that is original.”

Johnson said she still uses the same copper kettles and wooden paddles, and cooks on the same gas stove in the back room.

Johnson said she occasionally receives questions from customers about how the taste of Caruso’s candy is better than other brands.

“All I can come up with is the handling of it,” Johnson said. “I do actually hand dip absolutely everything. I think it’s freshness too. Those other places during busy times make it months ahead. Mine is days and weeks ahead.”

Johnson went on to thank the community for its continued support of the business. She also has a following of out-of-town support and ships candy to a customer in Japan.

After never expecting to take over the store herself, Johnson plans to keep Caruso’s going for as long as she is able. Johnson started working for the store when she was 12 years old until she graduated from high school. She then worked in retail optical management for 27 years. Her only lateral move from there was to go to Kalamazoo. As she had already bought Caruso’s, she decided to invest more of her time in the store.

Although Caruso’s does not make their own chocolate, Johnson orders a high-end brand. The store has milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate and molding chocolate. To temper the chocolate, Johnson uses her own hand.

“The more commercialized places use thermometers and machinery,” Johnson said. “My method is just used over the years. It feels right to use, and 90 percent of the time, it turns out.”

Johnson still makes her own toffee, creams, caramel and chocolate syrup, and she roasts peanuts for the peanut clusters. Candy making is not an easy task, Johnson said, but carrying on her grandfather’s legacy makes it worth it.

“What better place to work than candy and ice cream?” Johnson said. “People usually aren’t mad at you when they are in your store.”