Sweet Decadence finds opportunity in winter storm

The snow and ice storms of December brought Sandra Wixon a rare opportunity. The Starbucks near her chocolate shop in Newcastle closed one day because of the weather, sending scores of customers across the street to Sweet Decadence.

That day Wixon and her 16-year-old daughter, Kasie, made 100 coffee drinks and other beverages, giving many customers their first taste of the shop's chocolate and caramel sauces made from scratch.

Partly because of that bump, the coffee business at Sweet Decadence has doubled to 40 to 60 drinks a day, Wixon said. "Once people taste our coffee, they usually come back."

She opened the shop last May to sell the truffles and other candies she has made since she was a teenager. It cost between $200,000 and $250,000 to open, financed by Wixon after a 16-year career in the mortgage business.

Wixon starts each day at 6:30 a.m. baking muffins and pastries, then shifts to chocolates and candies. She often stays until 9 p.m. or later getting ready for customers' weddings, parties and big events like the Enumclaw Chocolate Festival on Feb. 6 and 7.

After making 500 pieces of chocolate for her own wedding when she was 19, Wixon knows how fun and rewarding that can be. At $45 a person, plus the cost of candy, she offers evening "Chocolarette parties" for brides and their friends to make wedding favors.

One of her best sellers is Jo Cools, named for the mother of a close friend who has been making the crispy peanut-butter balls covered with chocolate since she was 18.

The shop's candy case is filled with caramels and truffles — raspberry habanero, mint, rum, an orange-and-cayenne zinger — along with specialties like "tipsy turtles" — caramel, chocolate and nut bites with a splash of Jack Daniels — and "gummy spas," a white chocolate creation dyed bright blue with gummy bears sticking out.

Wixon charges $34 a pound for her candy, or $6 for a four-piece box.

She and several part-time employees, including Kasie, have trained with experts from 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters to learn how to make espresso drinks and create latte art.

Sweet Decadence's best-selling drink, "Annie's Mocha," is named for the family dog, a bichon frise. A close second is Caramel Decadence, with espresso, steamed milk and house-made caramel.

Despite the long days, Wixon, 43, considers this her retirement.

"I don't care if I'm 90 in there dipping," she said. "This is fun."

Sweet Decadence is located at 12835 Newcastle Way, Newcastle.

— Melissa Allison

OfficeMax has chosen the Seattle area as a testing ground for new stores called "Ink Paper Scissors." The stores, which range in size from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, are in Mukilteo (12502 Mukilteo Speedway), Bothell (20806 Bothell-Everett Highway) and Tacoma (4802 Center Street). A typical OfficeMax store is 15,000 to 20,000 square feet. — AM

True Religion Apparel, which sells jeans for up to $360, plans to open its first store in the Northwest at Pacific Place in downtown Seattle this summer. California-based True Religion is taking 1,576 square feet on the mall's second floor, next to lululemon athletica. — AM

William Ryan Select of Bellevue began importing a new, lower-cost tequila last month, produced by the makers of its high-end Aha Toro brand tequila. Aha Toro, which debuted in Washington three years ago and is now available in four other Western states, retails for $47.95 to $57.60 a bottle. The new tequila, Amigo bf4e Premium Tequila, costs $27.95 and is available only in Washington for now. — MA

Amazon.com's Home & Garden department sees several trends for 2009, including increased interest in products priced between $25 and $50, says Chris Nielsen, an Amazon VP who oversees the department's merchandising and marketing efforts.

Speaking Monday at the Pacific Market Center in Seattle, Nielsen said Amazon experienced "much more interest in lower-priced goods" during the holidays, with top sellers such as a Vinturi wine aerator for $32.95.

Products that help consumers save money at home also are popular, Nielsen said, citing food-leftover containers and whole-room heaters as a couple examples. — AM

Pyramid Breweries will sell a new spring beer, an amber lager called Rollick, from February through April at its alehouses and retail stores. Pyramid, which has a Seattle alehouse, was bought last year by Magic Hat Brewing Co. & Performing Arts Center of Vermont. — MA

Retail Report appears Fridays. Melissa Allison covers the food and beverage industry. She can be reached at 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com. Amy Martinez covers goods, services and online retail. She can be reached at 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com.