🔒Made in Maine: A chocolate shop that offers more than chocolate

As soon as you step into Len Libby Candies in Scarborough, you are greeted by the sweet smell of chocolate being made. The counter features 120 different types of chocolates — from cremes, caramels, jellies, toffees, barks, to molded items. Also, its famous coconut needhams aren’t made the traditional way. The chocolates sell at $30 per pound, and the business also offers items to suit a range of budgets. Len Libby, the founder of Len Libby Candies in Scarborough, worked for candy companies in Portland, learning the art of chocolate and confectionery before beginning his career as a music teacher. In 1926, Libby returned to making candy, selling it from his home before opening his first store on Higgins Beach. In 1949, he sold the store to Fernand Hemond but continued teaching Hemond’s son, Fern, the art of candy making. Fern Hemond and his wife, Maureen, bought the candy store from his father in 1956 and kept the Len Libby Candies name. Since then, the business has stayed in the family and now has its third generation of owners: Fern and Maureen’s daughter, Gisele, and her husband, John DeGrinney, who bought the business in 2015. The store employs 35 team members. To make its famous coconut Needhams treats, DeGrinney says it all starts with Peter’s Chocolate, a manufacturer of chocolate ingredients based in Pennsylvania. Needhams are a traditional Maine chocolate-covered candy made with mashed potatoes, shredded coconut, sugar and butter, but not at Len Libby’s; they have a new take on the popular treat by opting out of using mashed potatoes.

“We hand-crack about 20 fresh coconuts — yielding about 10 fresh pounds — using a hatchet to drain the milk and peel off the inner skin,” says DeGrinney. “Then we ground the fresh coconut chunks and mix them into a hot fondant crème, combining the coconut milk, sugar and corn syrup.” The mixture is placed on a marble slab to cool and then is cut into rectangles and covered in chocolate. “It is one of our signature pieces — we stand out as using fresh cracked coconut, as opposed to potatoes,” he says. “It is extremely labor-intensive, but well worth the effort.” These coconut treats take around five hours to complete. To source the ingredients for the various types of chocolates, Len Libby’s partners with several Maine businesses, including Wyman’s of Maine and Maine Maple Products Inc. All candies are sold retail only, to ensure maximum freshness. They are also available online. DeGrinney says this year the business plans to add Christmas Ribbon Candy. They are experimenting with making real Maine Blueberry Ribbon Candy and Fresh Lemon Ribbon Candy. “We are hoping to get out of the research and development phase of things and bring this to our guests soon,” said DeGrinney.