By AARON MUELLER
aaron@offthewater.com

Many business owners would have called John and Brenda Fulton crazy for opening a small business nearly two years ago.

The economy had hit rock bottom, and the Fultons were diving headfirst into a handmade chocolate and candy business in the tiny city of Coloma.

“When we opened our doors about a year and a half ago, it was when the recession really hit,” Brenda said. “We were like, ‘Oh my gosh. What have we done?'”

That fear didn’t last long.

Business has been booming since the beginning at Vineyards Gourmet Chocolates, a small, quaint, mom and pop candy shop, nestled between two popular wineries on Friday Road.

“We were just amazed how well things have gone,” Fulton said.

She has found people can give up a lot of things in a recession, but not their sweet tooth.

“With the economy the way it is, we may give up that new car and that furniture or taking that trip,” Fulton said. “But those little, simple pleasures like your wine and your chocolate, I can’t see people giving that up. And sure enough, we’ve found that to be true.”

Fulton’s hunch certainly has proved true, as consumer and market research group Mentel reported a 2.6 percent increase in overall U.S. chocolate sales in 2008, right in the midst of the recession. In the food, drug and mass merchandising channels, Nielsen Co. reported chocolate candy sales of $4.3 billion in 2009, a 3.6 percent increase.

The Fultons run their business out of a small building John built himself that also serves as their home. The grandfatherly and grandmotherly John and Brenda give out free samples to customers and free gummy worms to their children.

Along with more than 100 homemade confections, the shop sells Brenda’s handmade jewelry and hand-painted wine glasses, along with many other items from local artists.

All of the 10 different varieties of fudge, 16 types of bark, four brittles and other specialty chocolates are handmade by John in the shop. Children often look in the window of the prep room to watch him make his magic.

“Once in a while a lucky kid gets a spoon to lick off,” he said with a laugh.

The Fultons credit much of the success of their business to its location.

“They get off the highway, they do a little wine tasting, and what goes better with wine than a little chocolate?” Brenda said.

The Fultons say they get a lot of business from travelers making the trek from Chicago to Detroit and vice versa, along with summer tourists visiting southwest Michigan.

Among Vineyards Gourmet’s best-sellers are their peanut butter cups, turtles and fudges.

“They say it’s the best fudge they’ve ever had, just like grandma used to make,” Brenda said.

John, who decided to start the business after retiring from 38 years in construction, had no experience making candies. He did have experience running a restaurant and a “flair for cooking,” according to his wife.

He spent six months experimenting with different concoctions.

“I would come home from work every day and he’d have four or five batches of things he made up for me to try,” she said.

One of John’s new creations is chocolate-covered bacon. Although he did not invent it, the Fultons say it is one of their best-sellers.

Vineyards Gourmet Chocolate’s hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week; summer hours, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.