No need to sugarcoat it: this place has been on a serious candy streak since 1919.
In Chesapeake, Virginia, sweets are still made with recipes and equipment that have been around long enough to make most kitchen gadgets look like rookies.
And the old machines are not there for decoration.
They still pull, roll, press, and slice candy like retirement never crossed their minds.
That alone gives the whole stop a little extra flavor.
I also respect a sweet shop that does not chase every new trend. If something has kept people coming back for generations, maybe it does not need a makeover.
One bag is a purchase.
Two bags are research.
Three? At that point, you are basically helping preserve local history.
The Family Business Goes Back To 1919
H.E. Williams Candy Company has been part of Chesapeake since 1919. More than a century later, it remains family-owned and operated, with candy still made through methods tied closely to the company’s early years.
That history is visible without turning the place into a museum. The business is still a working candy company. Its old equipment continues to pull, roll, press, and slice sweets rather than sitting behind glass waiting for someone to read a plaque.
The company began with Shafter L. Williams Sr., who started producing Peach Buds in 1919. The business remained in the Williams family as later generations took over production and day-to-day work.
The candy and the process traveled together as the company moved through generations.
For a first visit, start with the history but do not get stuck there. This is still a candy stop, and a century of continuity is much easier to appreciate once something sweet is in the bag.
Give yourself time to look around, see the equipment, and decide what you actually want to take home.
Peach Buds Carry The Same Recipe Forward
Peach Buds are the signature candy, and their story reaches back to the company’s beginning. The Williams family has used the same recipe for the hard candy since 1919, giving one small sweet an unusually long history.
The candy combines peach flavor with a coconut center. That contrast is the part to notice. The outside begins as hard candy, while the center changes the texture once you reach it.
You do not need a complicated tasting guide. Peach first, coconut next, and suddenly the name makes a lot more sense.
Because the recipe has lasted so long, Peach Buds are the natural place to begin if this is your first time buying from the company. Pick up another candy too if something catches your eye, but the signature piece gives you the clearest connection to the family history.
The recipe has stayed recognizable across generations, giving Peach Buds a clear connection to the company’s earliest years.
If you are buying for several people, a few extra pieces solve the usual problem of everybody wanting to taste the one thing you meant to save for later. Historical appreciation becomes easier when nobody has to split the final candy into suspiciously tiny portions.
Old Candy Machines Still Do Real Work
The machinery may be the most striking part of the operation. H.E. Williams still uses taffy pullers, rollers, presses, and slicers from the early 1900s, keeping equipment from another era involved in present-day production.
One machine used to stretch candy was built in 1908, predating the company itself. Older work tables and other pieces have also remained part of the production process for decades.
These tools belong to the working side of the business rather than serving only as display pieces.
That makes the production process easier to picture. Hot candy has to be cooled, pulled, shaped, cut, and prepared for packaging, and the equipment gives each stage a visible mechanical role. No glossy touchscreen is necessary to understand what is happening.
You can appreciate the machines without assuming old automatically means better. Their longevity is the interesting part. They have lasted, the family knows how to work with them, and they remain useful enough to stay in service.
For anyone curious about how sweets get made, that is more engaging than a decorative antique on a shelf. The machines connect the recipe to the physical process that turns cooked candy into something you can carry out the door.
Take a look before rushing straight to the candy. The hardware is part of the story too.
Seven Kinds Of Sweets Keep The Lineup Focused
The company makes seven kinds of sweets, a compact lineup for a candy business with more than a century behind it. H.E. Williams remains centered on old-fashioned candy and a small set of established products.
Peach Buds are the best-known option, while Coconut Tri-Colors have also been part of the company’s candy-making history. The Tri-Colors combine strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate flavors in a softer coconut candy, giving you a different direction from a hard Peach Bud.
A smaller range can make choosing easier. Start with the signature candy, then let another bag handle curiosity. There is no need to treat the counter like a challenge to sample everything in one visit.
Seasonal candy has also been part of the company’s production over the years, particularly around the holidays, but availability can change. Treat what is on hand during your visit as the useful answer instead of arriving with a rigid shopping list built from old photographs.
The regular lineup stays compact and centered on established recipes.
That also makes gift buying simpler. Pick one familiar option, add something different, and stop before the candy bag becomes luggage.
Family Ownership Keeps The Story Connected
Family ownership is not just a line in the company history. Generations of the Williams family have kept the operation moving since the business began, carrying candy-making methods forward along with the recipes.
The company passed from founder Shafter L. Williams Sr. through later members of the Williams family, with relatives taking on production, office work, and management over the decades.
Production, packaging, office work, and management have remained connected to the Williams family across generations. Recipes and equipment stayed in use as later family members took on the daily work of keeping the candy operation moving.
That continuity is visible in the factory today. Present-day candy still passes through equipment and methods with roots reaching back decades.
For the reader deciding what to buy, none of that requires a history lesson before dessert. Choose the candy that sounds good. The family story simply gives the bag a little more context once it reaches the kitchen counter.
Limited Public Hours Make Timing Important
This is one stop where checking the clock matters. Public shopping hours are limited and centered on the daytime, so an early stop makes more sense than saving candy shopping for the evening.
If the candy is the main reason for the trip, put it near the beginning of the day’s plans. That leaves room to browse, look at the working equipment, and choose a few sweets without turning the visit into a race against closing time.
The shop is at 1230 Perry St, Chesapeake, VA 23324. Free parking is available, keeping the practical side of a quick visit simple.
The daytime schedule suits a stop before lunch or in the early afternoon. It also leaves plenty of the day for another Chesapeake stop once the candy bag is secure.
Give yourself enough time to browse without arriving at the edge of closing. A candy decision should not need the same urgency as catching a flight.
Once the bag is secured, Chesapeake has the rest of the day. The hard part is making sure the candy survives the drive home unopened.
Old-Fashioned Methods Still Define The Visit
Several core pieces remain in place today: family ownership, the 1919 origin, the Peach Buds recipe, a seven-sweet lineup, and equipment from the early 1900s that still has a job to do.
You are not walking into a giant candy emporium with a wall for every imaginable flavor. This is a small, long-running operation still making familiar sweets through methods with deep roots in the business.
Candy production remains part of the daily operation, and the old equipment adds another layer because it is connected to the work rather than displayed only for nostalgia.
Start with Peach Buds if you want the strongest link to 1919. Add another sweet if the bag has room. Then take a moment to look at the machines that have kept pace with generations of family members.
The whole visit works best when you keep it simple. Choose a few old-fashioned sweets, give the machinery a look, and leave with a piece of Chesapeake food history that still happens to taste like candy.
So the next time a sweet craving strikes, you know exactly where to go.