I have bought candy from you guys for years. I will admit there's no candy that can touch yours. It's nice to know and the candy taste the same all these years. Stay with the same recipes and didn't go using cheap products to make candy like most candy companies do And doesn't taste the same. You're the only Company that makes candy that I'm willing to buy keep up the great work and keep the company going.

Look forward to getting candy for holidays. It is a family tradition.My mom use to give boxes of candy out at church.Staff always friendly.

Who can take a sunrise...Sprinkle it with dew. Cover it with chocolate and a miracle or two. The Candy man...the candy man can. Or H. E. Williams Candy Co, in Chesapeake, VA can. Located in a residential neighborhood in South Norfolk, the white, 4,000-square-foot factory would be completely nondescript were it not for the old-timey red-and-white sign hanging by the front door. But inside there awaits an experience like few others in the country can offer. Step through the door and watch as the Williams family makes commercial quantities of hard candy by hand using equipment, recipes and methods dating to the 1900s. I met David Williams and his two brothers and sister- and watched as they started the process with fifty pounds of corn syrup, seventy pounds of sugar, and a gallon of water. When the cauldron heats it to 310° degrees, it's ready for phase 2. Aided by a pulley system, the pot is tilted and the mixture spills across a long steel table, settling into a viscous layer. Cold water flows through a tray just below the surface, helping to cool the mixture. The men spoon on globs of food coloring, then add flavoring. It was blueberry today and using ruler-like metal sticks they cut the sheet into sections. After vigorous folding and kneading, they hoists a 50-pound loaf onto a 100-year-old machine. Its rollers dip and spin, stretching the dough into a sticky, arm-thick rope. The process took about 45 minutes, from magma to packed and labeled. It's entirety was done by hand. By brothers, sister, nephews and a cousin or two. It's a family affair that's now been in operation over a century. Grandpa S.L. Williamson went into business in 1919, and the family has followed the same recipes and, with the exception of two or three new flavors has produced the same core line of products. In 1919, S.L. Williamson settled in Norfolk and took over a big, city-block-sized building on the waterfront. There he set up shop manufacturing candy. By the 1930s, he was selling candy throughout the U.S. To keep up with demand, S.L. had his own spur of railroad with tracks leasing to each end of the factory. Trains came to the back delivering syrup, sugar, flavoring etc. Trains in the back got supplies, The ones that came to the front got loaded down with candy. Hard times ensued during WW2, but they never closed. In 1982, highway construction led the government to make an offer on the property, and the company moved into a smaller building in Chesapeake. In the 35 years since the move to Perry Street, the family's business model has not varied. While other companies were busy automating, rebranding and shifting toward newer offerings, the Williams kept on doing things the old fashioned way. Today, their business still doesn't own a single computer and has no official online presence. They do not advertise and haven't employed a salesman since the 1960s. Orders are completed either in person or over a landline telephone and are payable by cash or check. Prices haven't risen a penny since the 1990s. Seriously, a bag of candy is .90c and a large box is $5.00. Between October and Jan. 1, the Williams will bring on dozens of temporary workers. Most of them family and friends working six 10- to 12-hour days a week. They will make, package, sell and ship nearly 100,000 pounds of candy by New Year's. So while the company's steadfast refusal to change has turned it into something of a working museum, the preserved line of heirloom products could well be the key to its future. I witnessed a miracle or two and met the Candy Man in Chesapeake, VA.

Over fifty 5 years ago, my dad and I used to go to mr. Williams factory. Mister Williams was actually my dad's customer. He sold color and flavoring for all of his candies. Nothing has changed one bit. My favorite, of course, the peach buds they have not changed over all of these years. I met Mr Williams daughter at a food fair a few years ago and told her the history we had. One of the original small family businesses in our home. Thank you for the Memories.

What an amazing family owned company that began in 1919. We were able to watch the whole process of peach buds being made from melting the sugar and corn syrup, putting it on the water cooled table, mixing in the color and flavor, kneading one section of the candy to put air into the candy, folding the 3 sections together and watching the roll of candy going through the hand fed machine to cut the candy into individual pieces. We were able to sample the candy and it was absolutely delicious. They have many other flavors which we purchased and I know they'll be delicious too. All the family working today were very welcoming and we will visit again next time we are in the area. This time of the year candy is made on Monday and Tuesday, but beginning September thru Dec candy is made each day. They accept cash only which is also told so on their website.