Sep 6, 2010

Talking Business: Castle Rock grad opens flower and sweets shop in hometownBy Cheryll BorgaardTDN.com

Castle Rock, WA – In a Castle Rock shop where ice cream and milk shakes were served more than 40 years ago, Penny Stanley is dishing up sweet concoctions once again.

Stanley opened Blossoms and Sweets at 216 Huntington Ave. S. on July 24 in the building which once housed the Shamrock, a hamburger joint built in the 1960s.

“When I was in high school, we used to buy five hamburgers for $1,” said Stanley, a 1967 Castle Rock grad.

Blossoms and Sweets is a full-service flower shop with the bonus additions of ice cream, candy, candy bouquets, jewelry, collectibles and gifts. There also is some snazzy kids’ rain gear.

“I moved back to Castle Rock three years ago, and I thought, ‘Well, I’d open a flower and candy store with some gifts,’ then the idea of having ice cream came to me, too,” Stanley said. “It’s been really popular. We started with eight flavors, and now I have 18.”

Stanley said she’s been in business “off and on for a long time.” She previously had a flower and gift shop in The Merk in Longview and another in Long Beach before moving back to her hometown.

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