Since Kilwins opened a branch of its national sweet shop in Evanston in November, customers have either come in with a smile on their face or left with one, owner and operator Jeff Schneider said.

Located at 1724 Sherman Ave., the shop features a variety of desserts like ice cream, candied apples, chocolate and fudge. Schneider said he and his wife Dawn decided to open their own Kilwins after enjoying the treats as customers for years, and they thought Evanston would be a good location.

While Kilwins is part of a chain, Schneider said he thought his branch still felt distinct from other locations.

“Our (branch) fits into the field of a typical Kilwins, but we were able to make it our own with the design process and the different types of fudge we choose to offer,” Schneider said. “While we have the backing of Kilwins’ support, we’re really able to own and operate it.”

So far, the shop’s most popular flavors of fudge have been sea salt caramel and maple walnut, Schneider said.

However, Tessa Volpe, who once visited the Evanston branch twice in 24 hours, said peanut butter was her favorite flavor of Kilwins fudge.

“It’s the perfect level of peanut butteriness,” the Weinberg first-year said. “It’s sweet, and it’s got a good peanut-butter flavor without being overpowering. I love it.”

She added that she also liked walking by Kilwins and watching the employees making the fudge from scratch.

Bobby Read, another Weinberg freshman, said he liked that Kilwins sells Mackinac Island Fudge, a style of fudge that comes from Michigan.

“It’s rich in flavor and just the perfect medium for fudge, because you have some that’s overcooked and crumbles and some that’s undercooked,” Read said.

Though he said the prices were high, Read thought the “simply savory” flavor was worth the cost.

Schneider said a highlight of his time on Sherman Avenue was when a man who didn’t know Evanston had a Kilwins yet smelled the aroma, stopped, walked into the store and started jumping up and down with excitement.

“That’s really been our goal — to put a smile on people’s faces,” he said. “We’ve had an amazing experience so far. We’ve had a lot of residents (and) a lot of students coming in and trying our product, so we’ve had a good first couple months.”

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