Our History

Oh, fudge. That's how it all began. Back in 1973, young Tim Strickland was at the Atlanta Gift Market trade show with his big sister Jennifer and their parents, Stan and Pam. The family was at the show hoping to find some items for The Cotton Bale, their gift shop back home on historic River Street in Savannah, Georgia. Tim, who could be quite insistent in spite of his tender age of eleven, stumbled upon a fudge pot and begged his parents to put it in the store. His parents finally agreed, and, a week later, on St. Patrick's Day, Jennifer made the first batch of chocolate mint fudge. The fudge sold like crazy, and it soon became obvious that candy was much more popular than knick-knacks and Christmas ornaments. Six months later, River Street Sweets became a full-fledged candy store.

Almost immediately, the most popular treats were their World Famous Pralines®, hand-dipped onto a piece of marble Stan bought from a gravestone company. Today, our pralines generate more than $30 million in annual sales, making us the leading supplier of pralines on the planet! The oldest candy store in Savannah, River Street Sweets is still family owned and operated by Jennifer and Tim. Just down the street, Stan "The Candy Man" operates Savannah's Candy Kitchen, the largest candy store in the south since 1990.

With a combined history of 100 years of candy making experience, the Strickland family has made the south synonymous with gourmet southern sweets. Whether it be our World Famous Pralines®, saltwater taffy, crunchy, hand stretched peanut brittle or homemade pecan pies, our made-from-scratch southern delicacies are known worldwide. Our guests have always loved the nostalgic experience of watching candy makers dip pralines onto giant marble slabs; stir glazed pecans in huge copper kettles; and see our 100-year-old saltwater taffy machine in action. We not only make our sweets in our stores, but also ship them out all over the country, and world, for that matter, throughout the year. The holiday season is our busiest time. In fact, we are one of the United Parcel Service's biggest shippers in Savannah!

Including the original River Street location, Habersham Village and City Market locations in Savannah, we have stores in Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Atlanta, Nashville, and Maryland, with more on the way. That's because in 2014, we began to franchise under the merged brand name River Street Sweets • Savannah's Candy Kitchen. Our first franchise opened in Pooler, Georgia at the Tanger Outlet Mall in 2015, followed by Key West, FL and Lancaster, PA. In 2019 we opened in Greenville, SC, and in 2020, we opened at The Battery in Atlanta, Georgia, on Cookman Ave in Asbury Park, New Jersey and in Sunset Walk, Orlando, Florida. Visit our location page to find a store near you!