BOISE, Idaho — Lee's Candies has been serving up an assortment of chocolates and treats in the Treasure Valley for the past 76 years, named after its founder, Lee Nokleby.
After a few generations in the Nokleby family, the operations switched hands. It's now under the ownership of Ken and Katie Fernandez. The father-daughter duo bought the business three years ago, sticking to the original recipes and candy-making process that's already led to decades of sweet success.
"Gas stove, copper kettles, granite counters," Katie Fernandez said. "It's tried and true! It works, so why change it?"
Unlike her past profession, which focused on the fitness industry, Fernandez now spends the majority of her days making and selling sweets.
"So now I'm pushing candy on people!" Fernandez laughed. "You need to have a reason to work out, so I think candy's a good one."
Three years in, Katie's still learning new things every day and leans on her seasoned staff, like Shelby Gibson, who Fernandez says is essential to the process and passionate about the finished product.
"Chocolate and candy have a lot of nuance to it. Some days the candy tells you what it's going to be," Gibson said. "I have the hardship of having to taste all of the ones that I make to make sure they taste right. Someone has to have that job, and it falls on my shoulders!"
Although they've expanded their offerings, like creating a pumpkin truffle and a huckleberry cream, Katie knew the recipe to their success was already written.
"The techniques that we use today are the same techniques that LG Nokelby came up with over 100 years ago," Fernandez said. "Almost every day, I get to hear about how Lee's has been a part of someone's family tradition for generations."
There's a huge assortment of treats to choose from at their shop off Vista Avenue and their most popular item is the orange cream.
"We use high-quality real ingredients for our centers; so in the orange cream, we use real orange. In the lemon cream, we use real lemon. We use natural vanilla extract; not the artificial stuff," Fernandez said.
And while some new faces and flavors may appear behind the counter, Fernandez says the shop will always stay "Lee's Candies."
"As far as the recipes go and the technique, that won't ever change," Fernandez said.
