Help Save Nellie's Sweet Shoppe Smithville

Ronna Morlock Mack is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Help us save Nellie’s Sweet Shoppe in Smithville Missouri. A sweet spot on Main Street.

A 12-year-old family owned fudge, ice cream, candy and memory making establishment.

We need help climbing out of the financial hole that months of construction created.

Many of you are aware that Smithville is creating a beautiful new downtown ‘Streetscape’. New entrance, streets, curbs, sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, corner bump outs, lamp posts, banners, seating, railings, art work.

It will be awesome when it is finished, but it has been devastating to our business since late August.

The construction plan was discussed at city meetings, where we understood that every effort would be made to retain access to our business and we could expect minimal disruption during the construction phase. However, the negative impact was much greater than we anticipated. In late August until December the street in front of the shoppe was closed…no cars could drive or park on the street.

Customers could still come in…IF they parked a block away, walked around barriers, and on gravel behind an orange mesh fence to the front door. Following the opening of Main street, there were closures and detours on the supporting streets creating a maze for those motivated to make the trip.

To varying degrees, all the downtown businesses felt some pain.

Nellie’s business has always been primarily from front door traffic. Our guests come in and enjoy our fudge, ice cream, chocolates, and candy. They often stay and visit for a bit. During events and festivals there are lines out the door.

This is great….until the front door in inaccessible.

The surrounding businesses may have felt the impact a bit less as they were able to continue serving some of their customers in other ways. For example: weddings and funerals OR team spirit wear OR catering/events and online orders OR décor services and special orders. Many of the stores are filled with paying venders which helps cushion expenses.

Nellie’s has always been more of a labor of love than a money maker. My parents moved from Minneapolis in 2006, I moved with my family from Olathe Kansas that same year….to help care for my sister Janelle (Nellie) and her family during her second battle with melanoma. Several months after she lost her battle, my parents and I saw the empty building on Main street and thought it looked like it should be a candy store. A few miracles later we opened Nellie’s Sweet Shoppe, named for and dedicated it to my sister. Above the front door is her life’s motto to “Take Time to Enjoy Each Day!”

For the past almost twelve years Nellie’s has always made just enough money to take care of the shoppe…pay our bills, taxes, part-time workers, order product and have a little extra entering a new year.

Until this year!

During these construction months, we are down $12,000, which is crippling to our small business.

My dad, Harley…..the “Fudgemaster” had a recent serious health scare. He was hospitalized with sepsis, had surgery and spent a few weeks in a rehab facility. The major motivator in his recovery has been his desire to return to Nellie’s. A place filled with people he loves.

The new streetscape is almost complete, it will be beautiful. There are additional fun activities planned for the downtown this year.

Nellie’s wants to be a part of it.

Will you please help us climb out of this hole, so we can catch up and move forward??