Classic candies and sweets popular on TikTok are part of the mix at Harley’s Sweet Spot, a Woodstock shop named for its owners’ 9-year-old son.
Co-owners Lori MacHaffie and Scott Barrett opened the Mill Hill Road store in May 2024. Alongside building an online business, they hope their shop becomes part of the childhood memories of local children and visiting families.
“Being a part of people’s childhood, whether they’re coming back every summer or they’re weekenders or locals, has been really nice,” MacHaffie said.
The idea for the business came during their travels in the summer of 2023.
“We were in a touristy town, and there was a candy store,” Barrett said. “And Lori was like, ‘Why don’t we have a candy store in Woodstock? We should open a candy store.’ She’s incredibly strong-willed and determined, and she said ‘I’m gonna do this,’ and she figured it out.”
Before opening the store, MacHaffie spent 20 years in New York City’s garment industry, focusing on fashion trends. She said that work gave her skills she could apply to running her own business. She now works full time at the shop. Barrett works full time in advertising and handles marketing, social media, and e-commerce for Harley’s Sweet Spot.
“It’s a lot of late nights and weekends,” Barrett said. “We try to squeeze in time wherever we can.”
The store’s changing inventory includes local brands, international sweets, classic candies, and themed variety boxes. Offerings include a “Your Kid Saw This on TikTok” box featuring candies popular on social media, “Harley’s Favorites,” and “The Mega Retro” box, with classic candies popular decades ago.
The local selection includes products from Hudson Valley Marshmallow Company, Ritual Powders, Shaver Hill Maple Farm, and other producers on a rotating basis. The shop’s best seller on its website and TikTok Shop is Amos Peelerz, a fruit gummy with a peelable outer layer, available in 15 flavors.
The shop has sold more than 550 items through its TikTok Shop since launching on the platform in December 2025.
Liz Mirchel, a visitor from Dallas, stopped in with her husband, Ryan, and their two elementary school-age daughters. The family visits candy stores wherever they travel.
“This has to stay open,” Mirchel said. “Candy stores like this are important to young families visiting. It gives little kids something to do besides sitting in a restaurant, or going to bars.”
MacHaffie and Barrett manage the shop, which has one part-time cashier.
“I didn’t anticipate watching other people’s kids grow. After a year they’ll come back and they’ve gotten so big, or they’re talking now, or they have a new sibling. So many people will remember us as a part of their childhood, and as a parent that’s really important,” MacHaffie said.
Photos by Roy Gumpel/The Overlook.
Eva Fulmer is an intern and contributing reporter. You can reach her at reporting@theoverlooknews.com.
