Mr Simm’s Olde Sweet Shoppe opens in Church Street, York

8:47am Saturday 29th September 2012 in News

Rachel Harris, left, the new owner of Mr Simm’s Olde Sweet Shoppe in Church Street, York, with shop assistant Becky Belcher Rachel Harris, left, the new owner of Mr Simm’s Olde Sweet Shoppe in Church Street, York, with shop assistant Becky Belcher

A TASTE of the past has come to York with the opening of a nostalgic sweet shop for those brought up on pear drops, Yorkshire mixture and floral gums.

Rachel Harris, 34, opened Mr Simm’s Olde Sweet Shoppe in Church Street because she felt the historic city was the perfect location.

Mrs Harris, who commutes from Manchester, said: “I have been coming to York for the past 18 months looking for retail locations. It’s just idyllic here. I thought it was a really good opportunity. York really adds to the nostalgia.”

She said: “Our best-sellers are midget gems. In a recession, sweets are like an affordable treat which pick people up.”

Among the jars on the shelves are other favourites such as rhubarb & custards, cherry lips, sports mixture and dolly mixtures.

Comments(18)

roskoboskovic says...
11:44am Sat 29 Sep 12

great,i love old school sweets but how many midget gems do you have to sell to pay rent and rates on a church st shop plus a daily commute from manchester.

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xtc says...
1:28pm Sat 29 Sep 12

Slow day at press office zzzzzzzzzzzz!

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BigJon says...
2:31pm Sat 29 Sep 12

hmmm...good luck to them but isn't this the wrong time of year to be opening a nostalgic sweet shop that would appeal to tourists? Also, hasn't there also been a 'traditional sweet shop' in Bootham, just round the corner from Exhibition Square, since last year? If so it's not an especially novel or new idea is it?

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Woody G Mellor says...
4:48pm Sat 29 Sep 12

Well done Rachel. I hope it's a roaring success for you! Always good to see new shops opening in our city centre.

(Please try to ignore the negative miserable gits. We are not all like them in York)

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whitehorse says...
6:11pm Sat 29 Sep 12

Wow- the Press have abandoned novelty and plunged the depths of mundanity- or is this a paid for and shallow advert. There are loads of traditional sweet shops (tm) in York. Monkgate, Petergate and the Shambles to name but a few. Though in truth, i'm not sure the. Shambles shop ever progressed enough to consider itself retro.

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telos says...
6:57pm Sat 29 Sep 12

What a load of mizz-mogs. Some people are not happy unless they are moaning about something. Do all the shops in the town centre have to be for the tourists. Considering most of them are from other countries, nostalgic items like these may have no meaning to them. I am sure that this shop will brighten the place up a bit, and i will be paying a visit myself at some point.

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ouseswimmer says...
8:54pm Sat 29 Sep 12

There's been one in the Shambles for ten years and there's one in Low Petergate so a third will likely struggle.

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loobydriver says...
9:04pm Sat 29 Sep 12

Hmmm, I was in Manchester on Wednesday and happened to pass and then go into the Mr Simms there - drawn by the promise of my favourite sweets from my childhood. It is a fairly new there, a huge shop in what I imagine is an expensive location. There was nobody in but Manchester was heaving. However I ventured in and eventually found the old favourites at the back after I'd run the gammot of a huge section of Jelly Beans of all different flavours, Italian Pastilles and a selection of American food! I spent £2.50 on various bits but they'll need a whole lot more of my kind of spend to keep going!! Maybe sweety shops are going to be the 'new' coffee shop and be on every corner? what a novelty?!

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Woody G Mellor says...
9:25pm Sat 29 Sep 12

ouseswimmer wrote:
There's been one in the Shambles for ten years and there's one in Low Petergate so a third will likely struggle.
"Three will be a struggle"????? Are you for real? How many cafes are there in York? Clothes shops? Hotels? Restaurants? Etc etc etc?

Pillock.

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sr2222 says...
11:27pm Sat 29 Sep 12

But do they sell sugar mice ?? Used to near the minster but that's now long gone . Ahh those were the days .

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newcyclist says...
12:57pm Sun 30 Sep 12

Good luck to you. I would have thought one of York's more ancient streets would have suited a shop with a pastiche olde worlde name like this.
Can we have sweets from Rowntrees, Terry's, Bassett's, Cadbury's and Craven's please?
The I'll come in. I don't want to see lots of imported chocolate. However the timing is very good for Bonfire toffee, Halloween treats and Christmas, and I'm looking forward to some tasting sessions!

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lowbeam says...
2:02pm Sun 30 Sep 12

The spirit of Mrs Dooleys lives on..minus the cat hairs!

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king-albert says...
2:26pm Sun 30 Sep 12

Do us a favour - this sweet shop is part of a national chain!

Fabricated nostalgia if you ask me - but the marketing director must be laughing coconut mushrooms at the free press publicity for a corporate company.

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heworth.28 says...
2:52pm Sun 30 Sep 12

Another press release quoted as news, sigh.

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ChilliPepper87 says...
9:02pm Sun 30 Sep 12

king-albert wrote:
Do us a favour - this sweet shop is part of a national chain!

Fabricated nostalgia if you ask me - but the marketing director must be laughing coconut mushrooms at the free press publicity for a corporate company.
http://www.mrsimmsfr
anchise.co.uk/

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Omega Point says...
9:55pm Sun 30 Sep 12

Woody G Mellor wrote:
ouseswimmer wrote: There's been one in the Shambles for ten years and there's one in Low Petergate so a third will likely struggle.
"Three will be a struggle"????? Are you for real? How many cafes are there in York? Clothes shops? Hotels? Restaurants? Etc etc etc? Pillock.
Why finish with that offensive name calling on a comment about sweet shops

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Magoose says...
1:30pm Mon 1 Oct 12

Sweet

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Mr Trellis says...
9:10am Tue 2 Oct 12

LICC sell sugar mice

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