Orient residents share wish list for former Candy Man as new owner eyes convenience store

With summer on the back stretch and the future of the old Candy Man still unsettled, Orient residents have a wish list for whatever comes next.

Prepared dinners in a pinch. Groceries later in the day. Even a place to fix or rent bicycles. And they wouldn’t mind getting some of that chocolate back, either.

The Candy Man closed just before Easter after 38 years of satisfying the North Fork’s sweet tooth, leaving a familiar stop along the road to the Cross Sound Ferry dark as the busy summer season approached.

Nearly four months later, the familiar red building has a new coat of white paint and a “Candy Corner” sign, but exactly what will open there — and when — remains hazy.

One thing that is now clear is that the Candy Man property and an adjoining parcel have been sold. Deeds recorded July 28 with the Suffolk County Clerk show they changed hands for a combined $945,000. Great Equity Energy Corp. purchased the main Candy Man site for $578,000, while Great Equity Success Corp. purchased the adjoining parcel for $367,000.

Attorney Don Jayamaha, who previously told The Suffolk Times he was the new landlord, confirmed Friday that he owns both holding companies.

Mr. Jayamaha said he envisions a convenience store that also sells candy in the larger building. A “For Lease” sign still hangs from its roofline as he searches for a tenant to operate the store. He said there are currently no plans for the smaller white building.

As word of the convenience store has spread around Orient, residents have begun imagining what they would like to see there.

The idea has particular appeal in a hamlet with few options for everyday necessities later in the day. Orient already has a longtime general store at its heart: the nearly 200-year-old Orient Country Store on Village Lane, which sells groceries and prepared food and serves as a community gathering place, with daytime hours that end at 3 p.m. After that, the nearest full-service market is about seven miles west in Greenport.

For some locals, that leaves room for a different kind of business rather than a replacement for what the Country Store provides. Nina Keller said she’d like to see the former Candy Man space offer another option later in the day.

“I would want something that fills the gap,” Ms. Keller said outside the Orient Country Store on Thursday. “Like a mini-mart done differently. Something where you’re actually going to get what you need.”

Two part-time Orient residents from Brooklyn, one male and one female who asked not to be named, said a market offering prepared food would also be welcome.

“We’d love to have a version of the Candy Man back,” the female Brooklyn resident said. “But we’re also excited to hear there might be a market going in there with other things. It’s very hard to get takeout dinner anywhere. Like, open a fridge and grab something you could feed the kids, or something nice.”

The residents also welcomed another possibility Mr. Jayamaha has discussed: offering bicycle repair service behind the smaller building.

“That’s a big win,” the male Brooklyn resident said. “I had to put two bikes together, so it would be nice if someone else could do it for us. Also, we can’t rent. We have a bunch of friends and family in town, and there’s nowhere to rent bikes for kids either.”

The idea would also nod to the property’s past. Mr. Jayamaha said a motor repair shop once operated there when the larger building was a gas station.

And while residents are looking ahead, some also hope the new operation preserves a piece of what made the Candy Man an Orient institution.

William Heins, longtime owner Debbie Michta’s grandfather, began making chocolate rabbits in his Orient garage in the 1960s before the family expanded the business into the former gas station next door.

The shop closed April 4 after Ms. Michta said a “tragic medical diagnosis” in the family made it impossible to continue producing its handmade chocolates. Her husband, Jim, who helped make the shop’s chocolates, is battling cancer. The last chocolate bunny was sold the day before Easter.

Mr. Jayamaha said he hopes Mr. Michta could eventually have a role in bringing some of that tradition back.

“When Mr. Michta gets well, I hope to have him make some of the Easter candy for us,” Mr. Jayamaha said. “We want to keep the tradition going.”

Whether Mr. Michta has agreed to make chocolates for a future operation is unclear. The Michta family did not respond to requests for comment.

“I know I’ll miss the Candy Man,” said Orient resident Janice Caufield, who was also interviewed outside the Orient Country Store.

For the Brooklyn residents, the prospect of something new doesn’t necessarily mean losing everything they liked about the old shop.

“We love the Candy Man and its vintage quality, but I feel excited about something new,” the female Brooklyn resident said. “We just want it to turn into something.”