Like a kid in a candy store

Few foods are all-ins. For whatever reasons, some people will eschew a certain type — or, perhaps, all, meats. Some folks will stick their noses up at seafood.But you'll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't enjoy some type of candy, and popcorn is a traditional favorite as well. Those classic edibles, mixed in with a visit to yesteryear, make Calico Charlie's Candy & More in Fostoria a unique shop. You won't have a sit-down meal at 206 S. Main St., but you may munch on some goodies, wash them down with soda pop in glass bottles and wind your way from the past to the present while chatting about one of the many nostalgic items onsite that help provide a comfortable vibe. "It just feels, I don't know, calm, but happy at the same time," said Kristin VanCuren Koester, a native Fostorian who owns the store with her husband, Matt Koester. "And it's interesting to hear — little kids will sometimes be, like, 'It's so pretty.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, my gosh.' That's so unusual, I think, for a little kid to notice the aesthetics of it. It's really interesting." VanCuren Koester's interest may be particularly piqued because along with working at the store, she's also the preschool coordinator for Perrysburg Schools. VanCuren Koester got the idea to open a business when she and her husband moved to Fostoria in 2020. Matt Koester had for many years worked in bars and restaurants in the Toledo area and took a pass on going that route again in Fostoria. VanCuren Koester said the idea of actually opening a candy store came to her in a dream. The dream became real life in 2023. "I was looking at what was already here and what we could add and not be another of the same," VanCuren Koester said. "Not that competition isn't good, but it kind of wears off and the fact that I've spent a lot of years working with kids — what kinds of things could we do that are kind of kid-friendly? "I think back to, like, going to Crow's — I walked there from my house to this little corner market and would get candy and my 'Charlie's Angels' bubble-gum cards," she said, referring to a TV show of the 1970s. ... I thought about how much I loved that and being able to go in there with just a handful of change and being able to buy stuff. That's what I had in mind (with the store)." Matt Koester understood what she meant. "I had, as a child, three candy stores I used to go to all the time in the Toledo area," he said. "(Calico Charlie's) is kind of like a combination of the three. I used to go to Boyd's, which is a retro candy store. I used to go to Fanny Farmer's at the old Westgate Mall. And then there was a place called the Tender Trap. It was right by my house and you would walk in there and the guy behind counter would pull candy buttons off of a spool right behind the counter — an arm's length for 25 cents." The prices surely don't match those days gone by, but along with carrying currently popular national candies and some of their own creations — what she called "peanut-butter balls" and "s'mores" sandwiches are big homemade sellers, VanCuren Koester said — the owners will attempt to hunt down some customers' requested favorites. "There was this gal who'd come in and ask for those little chocolate ice cubes," Koester said. "We started getting those in; now, everybody buys them. The Zagnut bars and one. Zero bars are another. I had this one guy who kept coming in; he was looking for the chocolate Necco wafters. He said the only place he could get them was in Pemberville, at a little market. I said, 'Well, I can get those for you.' He said, 'You'll save me a trip to Pemberville once a week.' So, now he comes in every Friday or every other Friday for his Necco wafers and off he goes." Added VanCuren Koester: "It's like somebody older will ask for them and now kids buy them and they're like, 'Oh, those are good.' ... It's like introducing them to a taste from the past." If they're interested, people — particularly youngsters or visitors from out of town — can even gain a few history lessons from visiting the store. For example, folks may not know that the name of the store is a nod to the past. "Calico Charlie" was the nickname of Charles Foster Jr., the son of Fostoria's namesake and both a congressman from Ohio and the governor of the state in the late 1800s. Foster's political enemies first used the nickname to mock his frequent wearing of calico neckties, and his supporters came to use it in an endearing way. The scent of popcorn is a good way to endear a visitor to a store, and that can often be found at Calico Charlie's. Koester said he keeps "bar corn" available for customers on Saturdays, and he said 18 different flavors can be prepared. The store owners purchase their popcorn from Buckeye Family Farms, near Arcadia. "We've tried popcorn from all over the place," Koester said. "This is the best stuff." The idea of giving people an experience in the store has worked, VanCuren Koester said. "Now, people who have been here are bringing people and have that kind of excited, 'I want you to see this,' (attitude), which is cool," she said. She said a couple who were traveling from the Detroit suburbs to Columbus stopped in and later submitted a positive review to a website. "It was well-written and sweet and something that gives you that boost when, sometimes, you're like, 'Is it worth it?'" she said. "It was super sweet, and that fact that they made a point of stopping is super cool."