Today, the retail store called Sayklly’s Confectionery and Gifts is the focus of this week’s business profile. They maintain the storefront at 1304 Ludington St.; the factory is a separate entity.

Joseph Sayklly was a Lebanese immigrant who came to the country through Ellis Island.

After settling in the Upper Peninsula, “Grandpa Joe Sayklly started out as a traveling salesperson — selling wares to the different logging camps and things like that,” said Jim Kirby, current co-owner along with his wife, Debbie, who is Joe’s granddaughter.

Sayklly went into business with Charles Frenn, also from Lebanon, and the firm of “Frenn & Sayklly” was selling candy as early as 1900, reports the National Register of Historic Places in its description of the Escanaba Central Historic District. The two began a store on the 300 block of Stephenson Avenue and operated more than one on Ludington Street.

Chocolates made by Sayklly's Candies at a factory on Second Avenue are shown in a display case at the retailer Sayklly's Confectionery & Gifts on Ludington Street. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

Advertisements for Frenn & Sayklly between 1910 and 1916 placed the store at 1320 Ludington St. In 1913, Frenn & Sayklly opened their second branch at 704 Ludington St. Though the business started out as a grocery store, they were at this point also well-known for their candy.

By 1917, only Joe Sayklly’s name was on the store at 1320, and Charles Frenn ran his own grocery on Stephenson Avenue.

Along with his wife, the former Mary Kirkish, Joe supplemented his business’s income by providing a soda fountain, homemade ice cream and candy at Sayklly’s.

In the 1920s, a new structure was built at 1304 Ludington, on the site of what had previously been occupied by a carriage and automobile livery operated by Phillip Maynard. In 1926, 1304 became the new home of Joe Sayklly’s confectionery and grocery. It was a family operation; his wife, Mary, had a big part, and their nine children all helped out, too.

In 1943, Joe Sayklly passed away, but the enterprise continued thanks to Mary and their children — Josephine, Angeline, Martha Jean, Louise, Fred, Marge, Liz, Ed and Marie.

Joseph Sayklly and Charles Frenn immigrated to the United States from Lebanon, settled in Escanaba and opened businesses downtown. (Daily Press clipping from 1910)

Religious goods and gift shop items were added, and the souvenir section that thrives in the gift shop today was born from that expansion.

“(Joe and Mary’s) son Fred Sayklly became one of the candy makers,” Jim reported. “Josephine and Marge were running the retail part of it upstairs, and they were making the candy in the basement.”

In 1959, Fred Sayklly broke off from the store to continue the candy-making in a more dedicated and focused manner. As candy manufacturer and wholesaler, Fred sold his wares to the retail store run by his sisters, Jo and Marge. Another sister, Marie, worked with Fred in the factory at 1815 Third Ave. N. A newspaper article from 1979 said that the old-world recipes Fred used were the same his father had brought from Lebanon.

Around 1960, the Sayklly store stopped selling groceries and started carrying more exclusive gift products and an expanded selection of premium candies.

In 1969, Mary Sayklly passed away.

Mary (Kirkish) Sayklly, widow of candy store founder Joe Sayklly, weighs out chocolates in 1954. At this point, she owned the business and was aided by a handful of the couple's nine children in running the candy, grocery and ice cream retailer. (Daily Press file photo)

A handful of developments came to Sayklly’s in the 1980s. Both businesses transferred to the next generation: Fred sold the factory to nephew Mike Kobasic, and it moved to 910 Second Ave. N.

Debbie Mayville — whose mother had been Marie Sayklly, Joe and Mary’s daughter who worked with Fred and made candy for years — along with her husband, Jim Kirby, took over the retail store from her aunts Josephine and Marge in 1983. Three years later, Debbie and Jim opened a second store at Delta Plaza in in Escanaba. There was also a store in Marquette for about 26 years, run by Debbie’s sister, Mary Jean, and her husband until they were ready to retire.

In 1994, what had been 1302 Ludington merged with 1304; the present Sayklly’s retail store now has more floorspace, which helps accommodate the gift items that are quite popular with shoppers and tourists.

From wind chimes to pottery to Michigan-themed puzzles and Escanaba souvenirs, the retail store offers much more than chocolate — though of course the candy is a big draw. Favorites are pecan snappies, sea salt caramels, chocolate-covered “sea foam” (airy molasses), nut clusters and chocolate-covered sandwich cookies. They also carry big national brands in addition to Sayklly originals.

In 2014, Kevin Robitaille, who had been an employee with Sayklly’s since his teenage years, purchased the manufacturing business — called Sayklly’s Candies — from Mike and Cheryl Kobasic. Kevin and his wife, Julie, are the first owners of a Sayklly’s business from outside the family, but the operations haven’t changed. Most of the Sayklly recipes are tried-and-true, long-standing and unaltered for decades and longer.

In the store, Jim said they like to try to keep things fresh while still maintaining an old-fashioned flair.

January is a slower time at Sayklly’s Confectionery and Gifts. After the hectic season that is Christmastime, the workers are able to clean up and reorganize. Christmas items are currently discounted by 40%. Soon, it’ll be Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day and Easter, and when summer rolls around again, seasonal traffic will pick up.

Presently, hours at the retail store are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

People can stay up-to-date with the Escanaba candy shop by following the store on Facebook or by visiting upcandy.com — that url redirects to saykllys.com, for those who have trouble remembering how to spell the surname.

Orders may be placed online as well — Sayklly’s ships all over the world.

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R. R. Branstrom can be reached at 906-786-2021, ext. 140, or rbranstrom@dailypress.net.