MORRISBURG – A kid in a candy store is literally and figuratively the best way to describe store owner Louise Leclerc’s enthusiasm about her new venture which is about to open its doors in Iroquois.
Violet’s Vault, located in the former Bank of Montreal location of the Iroquois Plaza, is a candy store, cafe and arcade.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Leclerc told The Leader while showing the fully renovated space taking shape.
Leclerc lives in South Stormont, but said the property is what brought her to Iroquois to open her new business.
“I had a cool idea for the bank vault, so it was the vault that actually sold it to me,” she explained. “I love candy! How cool is it to be able to have a bank vault filled with candy!”
The candy inside that vault, and throughout the store includes all kinds of rare, exotic, and imported candies. “Here you will find things that are not found in other stores,” said Leclerc.
That idea of being different overflows into the cafe portion of the business, which will feature all kinds of fun and different beverages that aren’t found anywhere else locally.
Floats, smoothies, and Boba Tea creations all dreamed up by Leclerc herself will of course be garnished with candy.
The food offerings including paninis, breakfast sandwiches, stuffed cookies and a special sweet treat called Bunnini, invented by Leclerc and will all be part of the regular menu.
“It will be a simple menu, but it will feature lots of different stuff,” said Leclerc. “It has to be fun.”
The new layout features indoor seating for 10.
“Nothing we’re doing here is to compete with the local businesses who are already here,” explained Leclerc. “We’re not doing pizza, that’s already here. We’re doing soft serve ice cream, not scoop ice cream because that’s already here.”
“We just want to do our own thing,” she said.
The south side of the building will feature an arcade with digital pinball machine and a number of game tables which have thousands of game options available.
This will not be a traditional coin arcade. Leclerc explained that she will rent out game tables by the hour. The arcade is separated from the main space, making it ideal for birthday parties.
Leclerc has five kids ages 14, 12, 10, and 8 year old twins.
Two of her children are on the Autism spectrum and Leclerc hopes this will be a place that they can work with her and work at something fun. “I want my kids to want to come to work with me,” she said.
Opening day is getting close, but Leclerc does not yet have a firm opening date as she is awaiting final permit approvals. As soon as those are in place the doors open.