W
ith a recipe of
love, labor and be-
lief (and, oh, add
some sugar), The Sweet
Palace in tiny Philipsburg,
Montana, has fueled a rebirth
of a former mining town once
reliant on precious metal into
a destination now defined by
precious mettle.
Opened in 1998 by Shirley
Beck and Dale Siegford, the
candy store has become a re-
vival keystone of the once-
bustling silver mining nexus.
"We often tell people that
they have to be looking for
Philipsburg to get here," says
Beck, a longtime participant
in Certified's distribution and
print programs. "When they
come, they're already looking
for us."
In the spring of '19, Beck
and The Sweet Palace played
starring roles in the PBS doc-
umentary on the town's re-
build, "Saving the Burg."
"It's 28 years of my life in
58 minutes, and I was just
about in a cold sweat the first
time I saw it," Beck says.
Likening the store's mag-
netic communal effects to the
film "Chocolat," Beck's work
to transform Philipsburg
takes visitors back in time.
"Here are all these 1890s
buildings and the flowers are
out in the late spring and the
flags are out, and it is very
charming," she says. "It's a
dense three-and-a-half blocks
that we've worked very hard
at restoring and maintaining
with elbow grease and per-
sonal investment."
The Sweet Palace mixes an-
tiquities with a fresh confec-
tions, including more than
1,100 kinds of candy. The look
and feel of the 3,000-square-
foot space with tin ceiling and
1890s furniture was curated
piece-by-select-piece.
"With pink-and-white
stripe chandeliers that you
can't even get bulbs for any-
more," Beck said.
Made with antique equip-
ment, The Sweet Palace's
popular salt water taffy
comes in 72 different flavors.
"We greet people with our
salt water taffy," says Beck.
"The Huckleberry Taffy has
become a favorite. The Huck-
leberry is a big deal here in
Montana, as it's a berry that
can't be domesticated; there's
a symbiosis in the way it's
grown, so you need to go get
the wild ones and share 'em
with the bears."
Beck's vision is as much
about sating a sweet tooth as
it is making each Palace guest
feel like royalty.
"You get here, and you can
just be yourself and absorb
the fact that we're interested
in you when we're giving
you a dark nut cluster," Beck
concludes. "What embodies
the whole experience is the
warmth of the human spirit."
...................................................
> VISIT The Sweet Palace.
CLIENT SPOTLIGHT
TOAST
OF
THE
TOWN
The
Sweet
Palace
candy
store
helps
redefine
Philipsburg
in
Montana
Shirley Beck, left, and Dale Siegford opened
The Sweet Palace more than two decades ago.
C L I C K H E R E TO D I S CO V E R M O R E A B O U T C E R T I F I E D 'S D I S T R I B U T I O N A N D P R I N T P R O G R A M S!
