‘The Sweet Shoppe’ celebrates 35 year anniversary

ST. PAUL, Neb. (KSNB) - In 1988, Alice Osterman-Davis and her mom opened a small candy store on main street in St. Paul. Then one day, Alice’s mom decided to try something new.

“My mom says, ‘Oh let’s try making cold cut sandwiches.’ So we tried that, then my mom says ‘Oh let’s try making fried chicken on Wednesday.’ So we’ve been making friend chicken on Wednesday for the last 35 years, and nobody better change that,” explained Alice.

If you visit the Sweet Shoppe, you’ll see some of the 1,800 cookie jars lining the walls. Alice started collecting those about 32 years ago.

“If I saw a cookie jar that made me chuckle, or gave you those warm fuzzy feelings and made you laugh, I’d buy that cookie jar because I felt like if it makes me happy it’s going to make others happy too,” she said.

Now, Alice is retiring after running ‘The Sweet Shoppe’ for 35 years. Before she leaves however, she wants to thank the community for their support all of these years with a birthday party.

From 4-7 p.m. Friday, there will be free food, cake, and the shop’s famous potato salad for folks to come by and enjoy, as well as say goodbye to Alice as she heads into retirement.

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