A radio blares hard rock inside the kitchen of Taffy's, 114 W. Abriendo Ave.

Joe Archuleta, the store's cook, is busy rushing from station to station, perfecting each batch of delicious treats.

The clock has yet to hit 10 a.m., yet dozens of caramelos, candy apples and peanut butter cups already have been made.

And that's just in the back kitchen.

Inside Taffy's, behind the store itself, Diana DeCesaro is making flavored popcorn, chocolate-covered strawberries and other odds and ends with which to adorn the store.

Taffy's is a Pueblo institution. And Jeff Connors, the store's general manager, has been running the show since April.

His job is simple: Keep one of Pueblo's most beloved businesses running as smooth as it has for the past 36 years.

To do so, he'll get his hands dirty and rely on trusted employees such as Archuleta and Decesaro to help.

The store

Ken and Lynda Connors bought Taffy's -- then Sambo's, owned by the Corsentino family -- 36 years ago, and have ran the business since.

Since then, Taffy's has become one of Pueblo's favorite stores. Seldom are there times when the tiny storefront isn't jam-packed with a line meandering outside onto Abriendo Avenue.

The company is so popular that even those from out of town have grown fond of Taffy's.

"Everyone knows Taffy's," Connors said. "People make special trips down from Springs or Denver, or when they're visiting family they have to stop by Taffy's."

Connors worked there briefly after high school before spending 20 years working on boats in Pueblo West.

He has fond memories of growing up around the store, as do many of his friends.

"I had a lot of friends who were like, 'Oh, we're going to Jeff's house, oh we're going to Taffy's,'" he said. "They thought there was a ton of ice cream and candy and stuff.

"When I got to a certain age, I didn't really get burned out of candy, but I just didn't eat it as much. But I'd come down with my mom to get ice cream in the evening and see my dad at work."

But now, years later, Connors is taking a bigger role at Taffy's.

"I've been the general manger since April," Connors said. "My parents own it and I'm slowly learning the business and taking over as we go."

Daily obstacles

During each season, different kinds of sweets and treats are in high demand.

During Halloween, popcorn balls are sold by the hundreds throughout the month. During Valentine's Day, chocolate-covered strawberries fly out the door.

Ice cream is a big seller during summertime. Although Taffy's doesn't make the ice cream, Connors and company take great effort to make sure the summer treat always is in stock.

In fact, Connors said the hardest part of running the candy store is making sure there's plenty of sugar to go around.

"The biggest challenge is trying to keep up with everything," Connors said. "Trying to learn the business and make sure we have enough stuff to make it through a weekend. Our biggest thing is keeping customers happy and second is keeping the employees happy."

Making the candy can prove to be tasking, too.

"Caramel apples are pretty time-consuming, mint sandwiches are time-consuming and all the brittles and English toffy are temperature-sensitive," Connors said. "Pretty much everything we make back (in the kitchen) is difficult to make."

However, Connors is lucky to have employees such as Archuleta and DeCesaro to lean on to make the process run smooth.

The employees

Archuleta has worked for Taffy's for five years as the store's cook.

From 7:30 a.m. to around 11 a.m., Joe prepares whatever candy and snacks are needed for the day.

"Joe is our cook and he has it down," Connors said. "He has it down to a science."

Archuleta works nonstop. He's always moving, whether it's mixing up some caramel for candy apples, making peanut butter cups or using extra caramel to make nut clusters and chocolate-caramel turtles.

On top of his meticulous cooking, he also maintains a clean kitchen. In fact, the kitchen is almost always spotless -- save for the few drips of caramel that might spray from dipping the apples.

Joe has a process, and can do most of his duties in his sleep.

"I don't even have to look at the recipes anymore," Archuleta said. "I can tell where something's temperature is at just by looking at."

While Archuleta spends most of his time in the kitchen, DeCesaro works tirelessly up front, prepping the store for its 10 a.m. open.

"Diana pretty much knows everything about the store," Connors said. "She can come in and open up and does everything from setting up to making Joe's list."

DeCesaro, the longest-tenured employee at Taffy's, makes flavored popcorn, chocolate-covered strawberries, runs the counter and does whatever is needed to keep customers happy.

For Connors and his family, employees such as her and Archuleta make their jobs much easier.

"It's important to have employees like them who can come in and do their own thing," Connors said.

Making the candy

When first entering the store, you're inundated by the sweet, chocolatey aroma and the rainbow of colored hard-candies.

For a sweet tooth, the smell of boiling sugar, chocolate and peanut butter is enough to cause a serious craving.

And the sights, from the multi-colored popcorns to the intricately-colored suckers, are enough to make you think you're in Willy Wonka's factory.

Each item made and sold at Taffy's has its own recipe chock-full of ingredients (though they do also sell gummy worms and other various items that are not made there).

Hours of hard work and dedication, and barrel after barrel of ingredients goes into each type of candy.

"If you saw how much goes into something like caramel apples we make and everything else, it takes a lot of ingredients," Connors said. "Most people see the finished product, but it takes a lot of time and ingredients to make everything."

The caramel mix for candy apples can take up to 45 minutes to get to the right amount of heat.

It then has to cool to have the right consistency.

"You have to keep it right around 213 degrees," Archuleta said. "It can't be too hot or too cold."

The sugary mix for suckers also must be at the right temperature. But perhaps the most time-consuming part of making suckers is placing the mold together.

While Archuleta works away in the kitchen, DeCesaro is busy concocting syrups to apply to the popcorn, making fluffy cotton candy and dipping strawberries into pure chocolate.

Then, around 11 a.m. a shipment of ice cream arrives.

Connors rushes the ice cream into the kitchen freezer before moving much of the inventory to the depleted store freezer.

All the hard work and dedication pays off, as Taffy's continues to delight those young and old.

A continuing tradition

For nearly four decades, Taffy's has thrived.

The store is a staple of Pueblo, and Connors hopes to continue that tradition for years to come.

"It's great just to have a local (business), like Taffy's, then you have Pass Key down the road," Connors said. "You have all these local businesses that have been here forever. It's great for the community and it's great Pueblo."

The tradition includes giving back to the community, like selling suckers to schools for fundraisers.

"We're starting to get that more and more," Connors said. "It's just helping the schools out through a local company."

And, though the company can't grow physically, Connors wants to grow his clientele.

"Hopefully, we can grow just a little bit," he said. "It's worked so well for so long. We want to keep customers happy and keep Taffy's as a solid, local business."

The reward

Working at a candy store isn't always lollipops and gumdrops, but for those who work at Taffy's, it's pretty close.

"This is the least stressful job I've ever had," Archuleta said. "I come in, I get to listen to music and I leave when I'm finished. I go home. Plus, the people here are great to work for."

For Connors, taking over the family business means that he gets to reap the ultimate reward: putting smiles on customers' faces.

"The most enjoyable part of what I do is seeing all the people come in and seeing happy customers," Connors said. "I go outside when there's a line and talk with people just to touch base and make sure everything is good. I just like to see happy people."

llyons@chieftain.com