Our Story

A Brief history of River Street Sweets

Oh, fudge! That's how it all began.
Back in 1973, a 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, we mak and sell millions of Pralines and are 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. 

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 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, we have stores in Habersham Village, and most recently in March 2023, Broughton Street, in Savannah.  We also have additional stores in Charleston and  Myrtle Beach, SC, and Sarasota, FL. 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 in The Battery in Atlanta, GA and in Asbury Park, NJ. In 2021, a location was opened in Sunset Walk in Orlando, FL and we are looking to add more locations throughout the Southeast.

Tim and Jennifer with candy apple and pralines

We love to see the joy...

Candy makes us happy, and even more so when we see the joy visiting one of our stores brings to our guests. Coming here is like a momentary flash back in time to a simpler day where you can let your worries fall by the wayside. Lose yourself amidst the wonderful aroma of fresh Pralines, gooey caramel and candy apples, or sweet salt water taffy. It's pure happiness to experience, and we are proud to be able to be a part of it!

Strickland and Nash full family photo

Generations of Candy Family!

From Mrs. Georgia Nash and daughter, Mrs. Pam Strickland, to her two children, Tim and Jennifer and the up and coming candy makers and business professionals in their children, There's over 100 combined years of candy making experience that makes this a SWEET family!