Candies By Vletas

Howdy and Well our next stop in Abilene is a candy store that's been doing it for so long, they don't need silly sweets like lickable wallpaper or a three course g What they do is much more traditional to Texas. In a small kitchen along the train tracks in Abilene, you'll find Pam McCombs and her daughter Peyton carrying on a long standing tradition in the key city, candies by Vletas. Were one of the first businesses, were the post office, the bank, a couple of other things and then were one of the first businesses that ever in town and we've been here ever since. Wow. Yeah. That'some history. Since 1912, the sweet morsels filled with pecans might be a part of the reason Abilene is known as the friendly frontier, as folks have been flocking here for years to get them. We are still making the recipes that are over 100 years old. We still do things by hand and it's a little taste of heaven. Once you try it, you'll never go back. No more candy bars from the grocery store. It's exactly right. That's exactly right. Pam bought this candy store in 2000 after working with a family that established it all those years ago. People ask me all the time, how did you get into it? And I mean, I was very blessed. I say God sent me there because I wasn't looking for a job when Mr. Vletas hired me. Back in 1990, Pam cleaned houses for a living and would head to Vletas for a Friday pick me up. There, she met Pete Vletas and the two struck up a sweet friendship. So Mr. Vletas, I don't know why. Just something, he just took a liking to me and we just became friends really. And so we started visiting every time when we would go on their visit. Before Pam knew it, she was helping out at the candy shop. I started packaging the candy and weighing it out, all that kind of stuff. And then eventually he would let me watch him cook. He would let me oil the pans and all that kind of stuff. But we didn't have any recipes written down anywhere. None. As the years went by, Vletas moved to the old train depot and business started rolling in even faster. Pete was at the end of the line and wanted to sell. But everyone who showed interest wanted to change up how Pete's family had been doing it all those years. Everybody wanted to mechanize it. They wanted to bring in machines and do conveyor belts and do And to make our candy, it just wouldn't be what it was anymore. So Pam took a leap of faith. One day I asked him, said, Mr. Vletas, would you let me just try to get the business? And he said, it's too much for you, Pam. It'll hurt you. It's too much work. And I said, well, I can get somebody to help me. Would you just let me try? And so he said, OK. So between the SBA and the personal loan that he did himself, and I lacked one payment having my house paid for and I mortgaged my home, I bought it. And the first thing that I did whenever I bought it was I made it cuter. After owning the business for a few months, Pete paid a visit to Pam and paid her some sweet compliments. Pam, the store looks awesome. Why didn't you do this stuff when I had it? Mr. Vletas, you wouldn't let me die my suggestions the whole time I was working for him. You wouldn't let me do anything And I couldn't have had a bigger compliment paid to me ever. So out of this whole store, all the incredible things you make, these are the signatures. Yes. Pecan brittle is one of their signatures. Yes. It'so different from peanut brittle. It's just altogether. It's a different flavor. It'something we're famous for. I mean, we're in Texas, so pecans are biggie. It reminds me of Christmas. Oh, really? Mm-hmm. Do you only eat it during Christmas? No. Me neither. The pecan pralines are probably my personal favorite. That's what I'm trying to have in my form. Well, thank you. We appreciate that. I mean, it's the truth. The sweet success Pam's been able to sustain since she took over has been life-changing. I just prayed that if I can make it work and I can take care of my girls, please let everything fall into place. And it did. Everything that I needed to do, he either showed me the way or someone else did and just pointed me in the right direction and it had done nothing but coast. I mean, it's just, it's just heaven. I mean, it just is. Digged down, Pam can still fill Pete's presence at the candy shop. And that's more gratifying than the greatest piece of praline. I swear I feel his spirit. And I know he is a happy camper because he would have never, ever, ever thought that this store would be He would be so, so proud. So that makes me happy.