On this day, it's the lull between the holidays, though, and the shop is quiet. Although it's a landmark on Route 35 in the township, the Caramel Shop was born off the Asbury Park boardwalk on Cookman Avenue in the late 1930s, the enterprise of Angelus Sakelaris and George Economy, says Philip Sakelaris, Angelus' son and current owner. Back then, the price of a pound of candy started at 29 cents, and Asbury Park's boardwalk was in its heyday. Its location has changed, but the Caramel Shop is still the place to get sweets. All of the caramel and chocolate are handmade by Sakelaris and his brother, George, in copper fire kettles in the back of the shop.
Orders come in from all over the country during the holidays.
Some of those who get the shop's candy as gifts in the mail become customers. This Christmas, Sakelaris says he shipped between 600 and 700 pounds of candy. Mostly taffy and fudge.