Mrs. Cavanaugh’s Chocolates & Ice Cream, a Utah-based candy company, has opened its first store outside of the Beehive State in a new Wandermere strip mall at 513 E. Hastings.

The company was started by Marie Cavanaugh more than 50 years ago and remains family owned. Michel Hayes, general manager for the Spokane-area store, says her father, Michael Wall, currently owns the company, and she is the original Mrs. Cavanaugh’s granddaughter.

“There are seven Mrs. Cavanaugh stores now, the first six of which are in Utah,” says Hayes. “My husband Tayler is from Spokane, so after we got married three months ago, we moved here and decided to bring the candy store with us.”

Hayes says the North Side store is a newly created 1,300-square-foot space that features a variety of gourmet chocolates, as well as nuts, pecan brittles, gummy bears, and other candy items. 

“Our most popular items are our Mindy Mint truffle and what we call the Cavalier, a kind of caramel pe-can truffle,” she says.

Hayes says the shop employs four people, including herself and her husband.

“We’re pretty new and not a lot of people know we’re here yet, but we’ve still had quite a few visitors,” she says. “Besides candy, we also make our own ice cream, so we hope to be able to offer that in store by the time summer comes around.”