DEERFIELD — Even at 70 years old, life is still sweet at Richardson’s Candy Kitchen.

With big pins on their aprons and an uncountable number of chocolates, penny candy and, of course, the Dixies featured on The Food Network, owner Kathie Williams and her crew are celebrating 70 years of confectionaries as the family business continues to thrive.

Since her parents, Barbara and Gordon Woodward, took over the shop in 1983, Williams has been around the business and seen the rise of online shopping, an extensive addition to the building, a pandemic, and countless new and returning customers to 500 Greenfield Road (Routes 5 and 10).

“There’s a lot of fun stories that get shared,” Williams said of the local customers, as well as those who travel into the region during the holidays. “It makes it really enjoyable.”

The story of Richardson’s Candy Kitchen begins in spring 1954, when Henry and Viola Richards, with their 25 years of candy-making experience, announced the opening in the April 3, 1954 edition of the Greenfield Recorder, advertising the “choicest candies” with an open house celebration. Approximately 4,000 people attended the event, according to the April 6, 1954 edition of the Recorder.

“To the hundreds of persons who visited our new candy kitchen last Sunday, and to the many who expressed well wishes in many forms, such as flowers and congratulation messages, we say, ‘Thank you,’” the Richards wrote in the April 7, 1954 edition of the Recorder.

The Richards operated the store until 1973, when Charles and Peggy Richardson purchased the business and wrote in the Aug. 29, 1974, Recorder that they “follow Richards’ original recipes to the teaspoon — 20 yrs. of pleasing people means a lot to us.” The Richardsons sold the store to the Woodwards in 1983, and Williams’ family has operated it ever since.

“Our family didn’t have any candy or chocolate experience,” said Williams, who took over the store in 2004. “The timing just worked out.”

While the chocolate-making process has gotten more efficient and two additions have been constructed during the time Williams’ family has owned the store, she said it remains pretty similar to what it was like 70 years ago. Richardson’s uses the original recipes from the 1950s; the busy seasons of Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day remain the same; and the store is still a family affair.

“Probably the biggest change is the online sales,” Williams said, adding that Gordon Woodward was “very forward-thinking,” which allowed them to land the richardsonscandy.com domain name.

In 2010, those online sales skyrocketed when The Food Network’s spotlight landed on Richardson’s Candy Kitchen. Chef and Food Network personality Alexandra Guarnaschelli was traveling through the area and stopped into the store, where staff encouraged her to try the Dixies — nuts covered in caramel and then dipped into chocolate.

“We got hundreds of orders overnight; it was the craziest thing,” Williams said of the response to being featured on Guarnaschelli’s show, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” The segment on Richardson’s Candy Kitchen can be viewed online at bit.ly/3ycaAhC.

After 70 years in business, Williams said she doesn’t foresee any major changes for the store in the future, even as people have asked her to expand to other locations.

“We’re happy here and this keeps us plenty busy,” Williams said. “I think we’ll just stick with it.”

More information about Richardson’s Candy Kitchen can be found on its website or at the store at 500 Greenfield Road in Deerfield. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.