Those who have frequently visited the Ferrara Candy Shop inside the sweets factory on Harrison Street know Silvia Avila well. The former Ferrara Candy employee always has a smile and often remembers which candies customers like.
“We love you, so we made you into a scarecrow,” Naoto Hasegawa told Avila during an interview with the Review about how he and his wife, Kimberly Adami-Hasegawa, constructed a scarecrow in Avila’s likeness for Forest Park’s annual Invasion of the Scarecrows. “We wanted to honor you. You’re like a town icon.”
To further recognize Avila for retiring in May after 45 years with Ferrara Candy, the Village of Forest Park named a street after her on a stretch of Harrison Street that runs in front of the candy shop. Officials and residents gathered outside the store entrance on July 9 to recognize Avila for her dedication to Ferrara and its local patrons.
Avila started working at the Ferrara Pan factory in 1983, when she packed candy with two dozen other women.
“We were like family back then,” Avila previously told the Review of her favorite part of working for the company. While she still speaks with many of her past co-workers, most no longer work at Ferrara.
Avila worked at the Ferrara Candy Shop for 25 years, where there were once tubs of freshly made candy that she scooped into plastic bowls for customers. But following the Covid-19 pandemic, the store’s displays are now full of bags of gummy worms, boxes of Red Hots and Nerds Gummy Clusters – which have skyrocketed sales for the company.
Managing the Ferrara Candy Shop for decades, Avila has served generations of local candy lovers, who are likely to miss the face of the Forest Park staple.
Ferrara Candy Shop is open at 7301 Harrison Street from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.