No More ‘Sweet Life’ on Hester Street
What an awful sight. The Sweet Life has gone sour.
The neighborhood candy store, on Hester Street since 1982, recently vanished. It closed down a few weeks ago after three decades of fulfilling the area’s collective sweet tooth. The only evidence of its footprint is now is the pinstriped awning and fading gate mural.
Behind those windows, the store is now completely gutted. No more bowls of candy nor shelves of chocolates.
The last owner, Gloria Farewell, announced the closure last month. Apparently, two years’ worth of water bills equating to $4,000 finally caught up. That’s in addition to building leaks and rodent infestation, the remedies for which the business had been responsible.
The Sweet Life was founded at 63 Hester in 1982 by area local Jerry McCarthy. In his own words, McCarthy took the corner space two years earlier with “a firm handshake.” He ran the business with his wife, Terry McIlvaine, until 2003. Farewell was the third owner in the succession, having purchased the assets in 2014.
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