Meet the new owner of Robin's Candy store in Great Barrington

Elise Contarsy, a New York native who has spent the last two decades forming roots in the Berkshires, has purchased the beloved Robin's Candy in Great Barrington. The store reopened with a soft opening Thursday.

By Talia Lissauer, The Berkshire Eagle

GREAT BARRINGTON - Robin Helfand, founder and owner of Robin's Candy in Great Barrington, sold the Main Street shop that bears her name to a longtime customer, Elise Contarsy, on June 2.

Robin's Candy, which declares itself to be the town's "sweetest destination," is a candy store that specializes in hard-to-find candy, handcrafted chocolates and gives a signature toothbrush to every customer.

"I'm really excited to be up here and lead this successful business into its next iteration," Contarsy said.

Contarsy is a New York native who has spent the past two decades connecting with the region by visiting regularly, sending her children to Eisner Camp and taking them to ski at Ski Butternut.

"She is very much a part of the fabric of the community and of the Berkshires," Helfand said.

Contarsy has spent her career in retail and had always wanted to own her own business. At the suggestion of a friend who knew how much she loved the store, she got to know Helfand and decided she wanted to buy it.

The shop wasn't up for sale when Contarsy asked, but Helfand saw how passionate she was about the store and saw a huge opportunity for herself to grow as a consultant.

"And for me, it was an easy decision," Helfand said.

Helfand first opened the shop in Millerton, N.Y., in 2004, then moved to Great Barrington in 2007 before settling at 288 Main St. in 2008. The business quickly became a staple for the town, earning praise from celebrities and being featured in commercials.

This change will allow Helfand to focus on RH Consulting, a consulting company she founded for small businesses in the region.

Helfand is staying on temporarily to ensure a smooth transition and help implement Contarsy's ideas — starting with a reorganization of the store's layout. Contarsy plans to keep the shop running like it has to maintain continuity. The store closed for a few days for the refresh and has since had a soft reopening, with a larger relaunch event sometime mid-summer.

"I want people to come on in and enjoy the experience, the same experience you've enjoyed and have really treasured for almost two decades," she said.

"My goal is to make it feel as welcoming as it always has."

Contarsy is most excited to see everyone's smiling faces as they explore the store.

"I'm excited for greeting all the customers all summer and over the holidays and the winter ski season, and being part of the community and continuing to serve everyone this fun, joyous experience," she said.

For the last five years, Helfand has had the help of a full-time manager, along with a collection of students to help part time so she can balance both the candy store and her consulting business. Now, she plans to move full time to consulting and spend more time with her family.

"It lets me pay it forward and focus on how to help other small business owners, founders, people that have launched businesses so that they can achieve the kind of success that we were fortunate to achieve," she said.

Her work in consulting has strongly benefited from her experience with the candy store as she is guiding customers based on her lived experience.

While she's excited to move forward, she said she'll miss the people most — the staff who kept everything going and the customers who always left with a smile. She said she loved watching families come in together and share candies from their generations, and watching kids open their piggy bank to make their first ever purchase, typically in small coins.

"I'll miss the real joy of the experience one has while shopping at Robin's," she said. "It's the happy candy memories. We've built this really special experience for local residents but it's also on every visitor's list. We're really proud of having built this experience."

Helfand has watched the store grow into a must-visit place in Great Barrington. But, she said she will never forget the early success sparked by a shoutout from comedian Paula Poundstone to a sold-out Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center a week after they first opened.

They were then featured in a Christmas episode of Ina Garten's cooking show followed by a commercial with American Express that honored small businesses across the country.

These celebrity interactions helped the store make national news, but Helfand said what really stuck out for her was the way her community rushed to help whenever she asked.

"It is really about the joy of having a community store that is supported by and loved by the community," Helfand said.

For store hours, call 413-528-8477.