Small Town Fudge is a fairly new business in downtown Hershey owned by Eric Cayton. The business opened in April 2017, and is located at 110 West Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, PA, on the lower level.

Cayton decided to open Small Town Fudge because he has always worked in the confectionary business, and fudge made sense to him because it’s tourist related and the business is right downtown. Also, his whole family has worked for Milton Hershey in his factories, so he is closely tied to this business.

“My grandmother was actually one of H. B. Reese’s first employees,” said Cayton.

According to Cayton, the name “Small Town Fudge” is about small town values. Since he has grown up in Hershey, he has always valued community and all that goes with it. He loves the idea of the community creating a support for everyone. One person who has been extremely supportive of Cayton and Small Town Fudge is his business neighbor Emily Drobnock, owner of Knock Knock Boutique.

“She sends a lot of her [customers] down here,” Cayton said.

Small Town Fudge currently has very limited hours. The hours are 6-8pm, Monday to Friday, and 12-9pm, Saturday and Sunday. This is because Cayton still works full time for a food broker. According to Cayton, transitioning from a full time position to owning and running your own business is extremely hard, but eventually rewarding.

Some of his best sellers include the Reese’s Cup fudge and Mr. Hershey’s milk chocolate fudge. Another popular fudge is the Chocolate Avenue fudge. It has Hershey’s Kisses on top and a caramel to commemorate being right on Chocolate Avenue.

This summer Cayton will be selling his fudge at Hershey Park. He will make the fudge, package it, and send it over to Hershey Park to be sold in their gift shops. If all goes well, he may be looking for another person to help out around the shop, since the orders would be picking up.

If he does hire extra help, that person would learn how to make the fudge, cut and weigh the fudge, and work the counter.