by SHAYLYNN MARKS
Sponsored by Visit Central Florida
RJ Webb, president of Webb’s Candy Factory, represents the third generation of his family in the business.
The family’s candy story began before World War II, when Webb’s grandparents operated a soda fountain and shop in Mayville, New York. After returning home from the war in 1945, Webb’s grandfather launched Webb’s Candy Factory.
At first, his grandfather made large all-day lollipops to sell at fairs.
“He couldn’t make them quick enough,” Webb says. “He was getting orders all over the country.”
When the demand for lollipops slowed, Webb’s grandfather put his candy-making supplies to a different use, creating a recipe for goat milk fudge, a fan favorite that remains one of the shop’s signature items to this day.
“What goat milk does is make the fudge richer and creamier than a normal fudge,” Webb says.
A Florida Story
By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Webb’s grandparents began looking for a place to spend their winters. Retirement, however, wasn’t really in the cards.
“He wasn’t a golfer,” Webb says. “He wasn’t a fisher. He loved to work. He loved business.”
Their search brought them to Davenport, where Webb’s grandfather found another candy business with a long history of its own.
That business traced its roots to 1932, when two women decided to make citrus candy for friends.
“Their friends convinced them that it was too good to be given away,” Webb says.
The women opened Sundial Citrus Candies. In 1935, C.S. Taylor purchased the business and its recipes, renaming it C.S. Taylor Tropical Sweets.
When Webb’s grandfather bought the company in about 1970, he blended those longtime citrus candy recipes with his family’s own candy traditions.
In 1977, the candy operation moved from downtown Davenport to its current location on U.S. 27.
Keeping It Original
Through the decades, the business has stayed true to its humble beginnings.
“We still cook on the gas-burning stoves and copper kettles, the old scales, hand sealers for the fudge,” Webb says.
That commitment extends to the citrus candy, which remains tied to Davenport’s agricultural history. For about four decades, the family used orange juice made from fruit grown in its own grove.
“We would do small batches, so it was always fresh,” Webb says. “Once that got low, we’d go pick a bin and juice some more.”
Over time, testing requirements and the cost of producing small batches made that increasingly difficult. The business now sources its juice differently, but the citrus candy remains part of Webb’s identity.
A Davenport Landmark
As Davenport has grown, Webb’s Candy has remained one of its familiar landmarks.
Webb says longtime visitors remember when Highway 27 was two lanes and lined with orange groves. Many families used the store’s large lollipop sign as a waypoint.
“They knew where they were once they saw our big lollipop sign,” Webb says. “It was nothing but orange groves until you hit our sign.”
Webb says some longtime customers still remember him as a small child helping at the counter.
“When I was little, scooping ice cream while standing on a crate,” he recalls.
Today, the family atmosphere remains just as important as the candy itself.
“We really do take the family business concept to heart,” Webb says. “The employees are part of the family business up here.”
That warm, inviting, family-focused atmosphere has become part of what keeps customers coming back for generations.
The Next Generation
Webb’s own children, ages 4, 5, and 6, enjoy coming to the shop and helping out by greeting customers and passing out samples.
While he doesn’t yet know what role they’ll play in the future, he knows what he hopes will remain.
“I hope that if they do decide to come in — and to join the family business, while figuring out how to keep the ball moving forward — they will still have the same pride that I do in telling people about the family history,” he says.
Each batch of candy carries more than a recipe. It preserves a legacy and a piece of Davenport history that Webb hopes will continue for generations to come.
