Sayklly's Tradition
In 1906, a young Lebanese immigrant named Joseph Sayklly pursued the American dream by opening his own shop on Ludington Street in Escanaba in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Sayklly's carried a small line of groceries, including homemade candy and ice cream. Together with his wife, Mary, and their nine children, Joe built Sayklly's into a thriving local landmark. Folks stopped by to take home a bag of Sayklly's famous candy or lingered at the soda fountain to savor treats made with hand-cranked ice cream (and maybe flirt with a sweetheart). Some of the biggest sellers in the early days, like peanut brittle, hand-pulled saltwater taffy, hand-dipped chocolates and fudge, are still sold today.
When Joe died in 1943, Mary maintained the business with the help of her children Josephine, Angeline, Sister Martha Jean, Louise, Fred, Marge, Liz, Ed and Marie. In 1959, Fred moved the candy-making enterprise to Third Avenue North and left the store under the ownership of Josephine and Marge. At this time there was a formal division of the family business between wholesale and retail. Today the production and wholesale business, owned by Kevin and Julie, is known as Sayklly's Candies and the retail business as Sayklly's Confectionery and Gifts, owned by Jim and Debbie Kirby. Debbie is Marie's daughter.
Around 1960, Sayklly's stopped selling groceries and started carrying exclusive gift items, along with an expanded selection of premium candies. The soda fountain closed in 1969, and Mary Sayklly died that same year. Josephine and Marge carried on the family tradition of sharing their father's delicious candies, and his love of practical jokes. Every April Fool's Day, Joe, and later Marge, would surprise customers with free samples of candy that were actually garlic flavored or squares of chocolate-covered snuff!
Three generations later, Joe Sayklly's descendants are still here using old-country recipes to make candies that have become an Upper Peninsula tradition. In 1983, Sayklly's Confectionery and Gifts was taken over by Jim and Debbie Kirby. Debbie is the granddaughter of Joe and Mary Sayklly. She has worked in the candy store since she was "old enough to walk," and becoming proprietor of Sayklly's was a life-long dream. The Kirbys continue to offer locals and visitors the U.P.'s best chocolates and candies, along with high-quality gifts sure to dazzle and delight. This family legacy carries on into the fourth generation as Jim and Debbie's children and nieces now work in the store.
We have remodeled the store on Ludington Street and opened Sayklly's outlet near the Delta Plaza Mall in Escanaba, Michigan. Our gift selection has been expanded to include lines like Hummel, Waterford, Lladro, and Dept. 56, as well as items unique to the Upper Peninsula including Escanaba t-shirts, sweatshirts and afghans, pure maple syrup and Yooper souvenirs. Our mail order and online business allows us to ship our products to you anywhere in the world. If you can't visit our stores in person, we'll send the old-fashioned goodness of Sayklly's directly to your door!
