New shop owner keeps sweet tradition alive in Westbury

THE sweet shop on Maristow Street has been transformed into ‘Dollies & Bears Sweet Shop’ where owner, Simon Dolbear, hopes to bring a blast from the past and keep a traditional sweetshop open in Westbury.
Simon Dolbear, who will continue his job as a salesperson alongside his new venture, is excited by the prospect of opening his first shop.
“I love sweets,” he told White Horse News, “and I thought it would be a good opportunity, having kids myself, to keep the tradition of a sweet shop in Westbury. It keeps kids entertained and brings extra excitement to the town.”
Although this is Simon’s first shop, he has plenty of support from his wife Leanne, who owns Dollies & Bears Hair Studio on Warminster Road.
“I may have never had a shop before, but I am looking to excite people and bring them in with something a bit different. We have created a friendly atmosphere, with an old-school sweet shop vibe.
“We wanted people to walk in here and feel like a kid in a sweet shop and let adults have a blast from the past as we sell all the traditional sweets from their childhood. With the ice-creams and milkshakes, made from Marshfield ice cream, we have also given it an American ice-cream parlour twist as well!”
Dollies & Bears Sweetshop provide pick ‘n’ mix sweets, weighed sweets, slush puppies, milkshakes and ice-creams. There are tables and chairs inside for people to relax and socialise whilst they enjoy them, with Simon looking to create social events such as milkshake nights on a Friday.
Alongside the shop, Dollies & Bears Sweet Shop also provide outside services such as made-to-order sweet cones for events, parties and occasions and a sweetcart available to hire for weddings. They will also be available for events such as school fetes and fairs and offer a delivery service of 1kg sweetboxes on Tuesdays and Saturdays within the local area.
“I’m really excited, I have a lot of support from friends and family who are going to help me run the store during the week, with me taking over on a Saturday and I hope that the people of Westbury support us too as I have a lot of exciting ideas.”
For more information, visit their Facebook page ‘Dollies & Bears Sweet Shop’.
Right: Simon Dolbear outside his new shop.