Happy Father's Day!

Sunday June 15 is Father's Day.  The National Retail Federation projects that $12.5 billion will be spent on gifts for Dads.  That is truly an amazing figure and I won't deny that I hope some small part of that amount is going to be spent at Sweet Tooth.
Pardon me for being a little nostalgic.  My Dad, Alvin, died in 2003 and when I come to holidays like Father's Day I miss the opportunity to buy a card, get a gift or help plan a little celebration.
My Dad wasn't much of a candy eater.  I remember that the table next to his favorite chair in the den had a little drawer and the grandchildren, as well as their parents, knew that drawer usually held a Hershey bar, supplied to my Dad by Mom who did the grocery shopping.
Grandkids especially hoped that their Zayde (grandpa) would offer them a square or two of that chocolate.
When we bought Sweet Tooth my Dad did develop a greater interest in chocolate.  He would come to the store and look around on the shelves, pick up 3 or 4 chocolate bars (not Hershey) and purchase them.
He came often enough that we bought a bench so that he could sit and watch what was going on.  Truly I think he bought those candy bars more to "help us out" than to eat them, since he often gave them away to staff who worked at the health care center where my Mom lived.
Everyone needs a Dad like mine, who in his later years was as soft sometimes as a creamy chocolate bar and generous to others.  He really wasn't a retail person, not much of a regular shopper.  However being an immigrant, living through the Depression, serving as a soldier in World War II, my Dad liked to stock up on "necessities" like toilet paper and denture cleaner.  A trip to Sam's or even the grocery store was his opportunity to pile on the "necessities" and sometimes we had to steer him away from purchasing certain items (like cranberry sauce...who knows why he stocked up on that?).
Nonetheless, he always supported what we did at Sweet Tooth and loved coming in to talk to customers and get those candy bars.
Spending a little time and money getting just the right gift for Dad was always important to me.  It wasn't until we had the Sweet Tooth that I paid attention to how important these holidays are to retailers.
Happy Father's Day to dads everywhere.