Less than two years after buying The Chocolate Drop Candy Shop, a downtown Belfast soda fountain and purveyor of ice cream and sweets, its owner is selling it due to health reasons.
Steve Ashey put the business on the market last week. The asking price is $175,000, and includes at least $50,000 worth of inventory.
“It wasn’t an easy decision. I spent the winter really thinking about it and put it up for sale now because this is the perfect time to buy a business like this,” he said.
The business is turn-key and well-stocked, Ashey said. And if a new owner buys it this spring, they’ll have a chance to get acclimated before the summer rush begins.
Ashey said he will train the new owner and has no plans to close before the store sells.
Business has been better than expected, Ashey said. The shop had a gross revenue of $290,000 according to its real estate listing.
The shop’s Main Street location — surrounded by restaurants with plenty of foot traffic — is ideal, he said.
“You can stand here and talk to your customers and watch the boats,” he said, looking at the wedge of Belfast Bay visible through the shop window as he stood behind the soda fountain counter.
As the prices of gas and restaurant meals continue to climb, candy and ice cream remain affordable pleasures, Ashey said.
“Get the kids some ice cream, let them run around in here. They’ll tear the place apart,” he said with a carefree wave.”It happens all the time. Nobody’s broken anything yet.”
Before Ashey bought the Chocolate Drop in the fall of 2024, the shop had operated at the site for 15 years. Ashey kept much the same, though he retired the soda jerk uniforms the previous owners wore. Ashey also installed a TV behind the counter where he plays only episodes of Little House on The Prairie.
“It’s a show I absolutely love,” he said.
Ashey added the TV after he saw too many families sitting at the counter eating ice cream and looking at their phones. Now, they watch the show together, he said.
Ashey spent most of his adult life digging clams and appreciated the changes the candy store brought, particularly air conditioning.
He says it’s fun to watch kids come in the door and “just lose it” when they see all of the treats. But it’s even better to see adults get excited to see the candies they haven’t seen since they were little kids, like 5th Avenue Bars and Sky Bars.
He especially loves chatting with his customers and encourages his employees to do the same. “It’s encouraging,” he said. “I tell them, you don’t need to sweep and mop right now. We can do it later. Talk to the customers because, God, do they appreciate it.”
Selling the candy store is bittersweet, Ashey said.
“I thought this was going to be my next 20 years. But after some sudden health issues, I just can’t continue,” he said.
He intends to spend the summer taking his sons, who are aged 4 and 19, fishing.
