New Fudge Shop Brings Many Benefits to Grandfather

Construction has begun on a new fudge shop at Grandfather Mountain. The new building will be located in the same area where the old shop was, between the nature museum and the animal habitats.

The original fudge shop didn't begin as a fudge shop at all. It was built in 1995 and started out as a wildflower shop and then later became a roadside stand where visitors could purchase birdhouses, honey and jelly. It wasn't until 1998 that the restaurant began making fudge and in 1999 the small shop was converted into the fudge shop where people could purchase the homemade product along with ice cream.

Grandfather's Fudge Maker Anita Wilson has been creating and packaging the fudge ever since in the kitchen of Mildred's Grill. And for all those years, Anita and her support staff have been forced to transport pound after pound of fudge down to the satellite location during the busiest months.

With this new building Wilson will be able to create the fudge in her own shop while the staff of Mildred's Grill will get back some much needed space in their kitchen as well.

"By moving the preparation of fudge out of Mildred's Grill we will be freeing up some room to expand backstage," said Grandfather Mountain President Crae Morton. "This is necessary because we have more visitors using the restaurant and we have 45 more seats since our expansion in 2004 but our kitchen size has been the same for 15 years."

In addition to the new fudge shop having a kitchen and a prep area, the building will also have a counter display, one restroom and seating inside and outside under a covered deck.

"Half of the appeal of having fudge at a place like Grandfather Mountain is the delicious product," said Morton. "The other half is the preparation that provides visitors with an interesting and nostalgic entertainment and we have never been able to do that until now."

Wilson, who has worked at Grandfather since 1994, is also very excited to be able to work in front of customers in the new shop and to get the opportunity to talk to them.

"It is just great that people love the fudge so much," said Wilson. "I enjoy cooking and feeding people and it is satisfying to know that people love what you do as well."

Each year Wilson makes it a point to add one to two new flavors of fudge to her repertoire and she is hoping to debut Mocha chino and Double Dutch Chocolate Crunch flavors in the new shop.

In addition to fudge, the shop will also be selling soft ice cream and hopefully pizza, sandwiches on specialty breads and cinnamon rolls. This will be a great asset to the Mountain this summer when construction has begun on the new Top Shop and there will be no food service available at the summit. (Hint. Hint. Be sure to read the E-Scape in March for an exciting announcement about a new Top Shop!)

"The fudge shop will not become a restaurant," said Morton. "But it will offer our guests a second option and a quaint setting to enjoy their snack."

Not only will the new building be larger and provide more entertainment for visitors, it will also be green in Grandfather's attempt to reduce its carbon footprint.

The building will have a solar water heating system that will consist of solar thermal panels on one side of the roof that will heat the water within them. The water will then be transferred down to a 120 gallon tank and the water can then be used by Wilson and her staff when it comes out of the sinks. The water will also be used to radiantly heat the building's new bamboo floor.

Bamboo, which is actually a grass rather than wood, is a hard, strong and dimensionally stable material. This wood substitute matures in three years, regenerates without need for replanting and requires minimal fertilization and pesticides.

In the future, photovoltaic cells (solar panels) will be installed on the roof of the building to generate electricity and further reduce the carbon footprint.

The old fudge shop has been moved to the Woods Walk area, just up from the Mountain's entrance gate. Tom Wolfe, the woodcarver, who has been at the Top Shop for many years will use the old fudge shop as a new wood shop. From that area, Wolfe will be able to continue to showcase art and entertainment with his traditional craft.

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