Sweet Shop and Ice Cream and Sundae Parlour Gives Crystal Palace Residents A Bit of Nostalgia and Something Sweet to Bite Into
Sweet Child of Mine, a new ice cream parlour, sundaes and classic sweet shop with a contemporary twist, has opened its doors bringing Crystal Palace residents and day-trippers something to satisfy their sweet tooth and a bit of nostalgia at 16 Church Road.
The sweet shop idea was that of founder Sue Allison, 51, who has been a resident of Crystal Palace for more than 12 years along with her husband and son. She had noticed there was a gap in the area for a sweet offering providing a mixture of pick and mix and old school style ice cream parlour.
Offering consumers a variety of 50 pick and mix flavours (classics like sherbet lemons, chocolate limes, white mice, flying saucers to newer sweets like rainbow belts and dino sours.), 15 flavours of family-owned English Marshfield Ice Cream (Sue’s favourite ice cream maker) including dairy, sorbet and plant- based offerings. Sweet Child of Mine also stocks delicious British artisan made small batch fudge, chocolates, and marshmallows. Consumers will need to pop by to see what new treats are being added weekly.
Just like the nostalgic sweet shops of yesteryear, customers choose if they want small, medium or large bags of sweets and can then have a mix of whatever they love. The shop also offers party bags and personalised sweet jars which make great gifts. And while ice cream has become a year-round treat come rain, shine, summer or winter, Sweet Child of Mine has indoor seating and will be offering “build your own sundae” parties in winter months.
Before the concept of Sweet Child of Mine, Sue worked in television production for more than 25 years on some of the UK’s (and now the world’s) biggest quiz and gameshows. She has worked as Series Producer on Ant & Dec’s PokerFace, their million-pound gameshow, Hole In The Wall with Dale Winton and she was the original Series Producer of The Chase with Bradley Walsh, taking it from format idea on paper to ratings-busting success.
Sue Allison says: “I’ve had a brilliant career but the last couple of years have been really tough for the TV industry in general. The UK used to be a powerhouse of new formats but it seems those days are over with less ambitious commissioning and budgets and schedules so squeezed that it’s not possible to make shows in the same way. It felt like the time was right to go and do something completely different.”
She continues: “I wanted to create an attractive and enchanting place that would put smiles on people’s faces – the grown-ups as well as the little children who get transfixed by the rows of jars. After all, we were all once that little kid in the sweet shop and it’s wonderful to see those memories come flooding back. And having tasted Marshfield’s Farm ice cream on holiday, it was a no-brainer to partner with them for this venture. The hardest part of the whole process was choosing the flavours as they have so many exceptional options. They do the popular flavours brilliantly – chocolate, salted caramel, cookie dough, mint choc chip, but their more unusual flavours are amazing too. Their award-winning blackcurrants with clotted cream is heavenly!”
Having worked on the Sweet Child of Mine concept, finding the right location in Crystal Palace, picking the right products and right suppliers including working with local creatives has taken around six months but Sue wanted to make sure the final product would reflect what had been her dream sweet shop. Sue worked with sign-writer and designer Hana Sunny, to create the branding, inspired by American ice cream parlour design of the 1950s. Hana’s team then hand-painted the sign using traditional sign-writing techniques, with striking effect.
Asked if she might want Sweet Child Of Mine to become a popular chain one day, Sue said “I’d like to expand the sweets business online, but for now, I’ll be happy to become an established favourite for all ages on the Crystal Palace Triangle.”
Consumers can visit the shop at:
Sweet Child of Mine
16 Church Road
Crystal Palace
London
SE19 2ET
Opening Times:
Weds – Sun (& Bank Holidays) 12-6pm