The C Shop
The C Shop, bright yellow and just next to the water, is a sweet seaside stop for homemade candy, snow cones, and all kinds of treats. From chocolate to ice cream on one side to fresh pizza and sandwiches on the other, owners Patricia and Patrick Alesse have your summer cravings covered.
A SWEET IDEA
In 1970, Patricia and Patrick were both trying to find summer jobs and realized a candy shop would be great for Birch Bay. A year later, they opened The C Shop.
Their son, Keith Alesse, says, “They realized that… we’ve got to figure out what businesses [people] need, start that business, and we got summer jobs for life!” When his parents started the shop, they knew nothing about making candy, Keith says, and tracked down retiring candy makers to learn.
Today, Keith co-owns the shop with his partner, Saara Kuure. Decades later, some of Patricia and Patrick’s original equipment remains, like the 1916 Edison Electric oven the store still uses to make pizza and other baked goods. Keith applied his engineering expertise to modernize the oven with state-of-the-art digital temperature control.
WHAT’S IN STORE
The C Shop has caramel, fudge, peanut brittle, marshmallows, ice cream, cotton candy, and so much more. Through the window, you can watch as workers expertly stir, roll, and cut peanut brittle and caramel. Their one-of-a-kind caramel factors into all kinds of treats, including their Ooey Gooey Bars made with marshmallow, caramel, and dipped in peanut butter and chocolate.
Special mention goes to the Peanut Butter Yumm bars, made with chunks of peanut butter and coated in chocolate. The bars got their name when Patricia, experimenting in the kitchen, handed a spoonful to Alma Wagner, one of The C Shop’s earliest employees. Her response? “Yummmm!”
Though mostly homemade, The C Shop also sells their favorites from other confectioners, including chocolate from Boehm’s Candies in Issaquah and gluten-free waffle cones from 5b’s Bakery in Concrete.
HALF-N-HALF
The other side of The C Shop is a bakery, cafe, and pizzeria rolled into one. Open for lunch and dinner, everything is still homemade, including sandwiches on handmade bread, cinnamon rolls, and hand-roasted coffee. Their pizza is made-to-order, fresh with their own dough, cheese, and sauce.
“We try hard to make a really tasty pizza,” Keith says. His personal favorite is the Kickerville Rooster pizza with bacon, Kalamatas, sriracha, and pineapple.
Drop by and savor the summer with The C Shop, open every day from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. until Labor Day.
4825 Alderson Rd., Birch Bay
360.371.2070 | thecshop.com
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