MUSKEGON, Mich. — Despite challenges, Lakeside Emporium is remaining open and bringing back "Sweet Saturdays," an event dedicated to serving the community and their fellow Lakeside businesses.
"We have people come in with their own children, when they came in as children to begin with. We have young people who were just starting out in school when we first opened that are coming in as college graduates," said Laureen Samples, who owns Lakeside Emporium with her husband, Gary Samples.
Their shop has been offering sweet treats for over 20 years. They specialize in nostalgic candies that are hard to find in most stores, and homemade fudge and chocolates. They also offer ice cream, roasted nuts and a wide selection of vintage and modern sodas.
In 2019, they brought Sweet Saturdays to Muskegon to help their fellow Lakeside businesses during a period of large construction.
"All the businesses were struggling because of lack of traffic. So, we thought 'what could we do to bring more traffic not just to our store, but to the area?'"
On Saturdays, they welcome to community with food, music and local artists.
"It added some excitement to the area, brought people down and gave them an opportunity to look around at all the wonderful offerings here in Lakeside."
It all came to a halt during the pandemic.
The shop lost its staff, but they kept their business open by selling curbside and online. But there were more difficulties that were to be overcome.
"During that time, both of us lost our moms. One of them, my mom, to COVID. Gary had literally two heart attacks during this time, one in November, and then again in April, but the community has been so supportive."
"We decided no matter what, we wanted to keep going."
The walls are covered with photos of customers throughout the decades, that the owners say they look forward to seeing every day.
"Every morning, whether it's a dark winter morning, or a beautiful sunny day, we come in, we turn the lights on, we look at these pictures, and we say, 'aha, this is exactly why I got up this to this morning. This is why I came in today. To serve this wonderful community.'"
Gary Samples continues his recovery, and continues to help run the business in ways he is able. Their first "Sweet Saturday" since 2019 will be on July 22, and will run from noon until 4 p.m.
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