Milk chocolate butter caramels. Peppermint buttercremes. Dark chocolate-covered marshmallows. White chocolate almond bark.

Wrapped individually in brightly colored foils or papers and then stacked on trays in a display case, the candies adorn the front entrance of Costas’ Candies & Restaurant in Owatonna.

With more than 35 homemade varieties to offer, Costas’ has something for every fancy — especially during the holiday season.

New owner Grant Schultz, who took over the business Oct. 1, said while the business maintains a population of candy customers throughout the year for events such as birthdays, anniversaries or class reunions, it’s the holiday season when it sees its biggest rush of people.

Former Owatonna residents return to the city and make it a priority to come by and check out the candy, and others load up on the sweet-tasting treats to give as presents for friends and loved ones.

The candies — whether caramels, truffles, creams, nut clusters or chocolates — are weighed by the pound and then placed in the company’s signature golden boxes, accented with a metallic ribbon or other wrapping paper.

Over the years, the business has expanded its varieties of candies available to customers.

Former owner Ted Boosalis, who is still helping out with the candy-making at Costas’, said his family owned the business starting in 1919. At that time, there was a soda fountain and ice cream. The candy-making escalated in the years to come.

They used to do all the creams by hand, and in the late 1930s through World War II, turtles and toffee candies were introduced.

Costas Boosalis operated the store from 1960 through 2004, and then in 2004 Ted Boosalis started on, introducing truffles and mints to customers.

“It requires a lot of patience,” Ted Boosalis said. “It’s very time-consuming and can take more than a day to do.”

All of the candy is rolled out by hand and then dipped by hand a piece at a time.

Now the company makes an average of 250 pounds of candy a week, depending on the week. During the holiday season, they’ve made as much as 500 pounds of caramels in a week, he said.

This delicious story appears in the Winter 2009 edition of Southern Minnesota, available now at locations around the region.

And over the course of the year, Costas’ sells between 10,000 and 15,000 pounds of chocolate, he added.

Recently, a large 50-year reunion sought candy for schoolmates, particularly caramel apples, Ted Boosalis said. Candy — and in this case, the candy apples — helps people bring back all of the memories of their youth. Then they end up coming back to the business to reminisce.

Though Costas’ is no longer under ownership of the Boosalis family, Schultz said he wants people to know he is the sixth generation in his family to be in Owatonna, so he’s definitely planning on continuing with the business’ traditions.

Candy prices vary, starting at $15 a pound for butter caramels to $20 or $25 a pound for most of the other candies.

Schultz said the company’s best seller is the butter caramels.

“They sell 10 to 1 over everything else,” he said.

The creams have been the mainstay, and the truffles are relatively new.

Customers can buy boxes of already picked out assorted candies, or they can pick out their own favorites by the pound. They can purchase a quarter-pound, half-pound, 1-pound or 2-pound box.

Candy can be purchased in person or over the phone and mailed.

Costas’ Candies & Restaurant is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the restaurant portion and until 6 p.m. if people want to have coffee or buy candy.

The Owatonna business can be reached at (507) 451-9050. More importantly, it can be found at 112 N. Cedar Ave.