THE LITTLE CANDY STORE IN THE WOODS

There are hidden gems all around us and the most striking ones embrace us with their simplicity. The charm of Mrs. Meckler’s Sugar Shack is precisely how cozily tucked away it is. Cohasset’s Beachwood Street is, in itself, not hard to find, but hidden behind a basketball court down a forested road on the way to Broken Spoke Farm lies a little wooden structure that can only be described as classic New England. Throughout the dirt road leading up to the Sugar Shack are signs tantalizing approaching visitors, a quainter rendition of the tactic seen throughout Route 95 for South of the Border. The genius of the place is that it works with the surrounding nature rather than against it. Aesthetically Sugar Shack fits naturally in with the pines that tower over it. It feels like a part of the woods. Visiting it while snow still covers the ground only enhances the warmth it emits. When I visited early in January Christmas wreaths still decorated the small windows and a wool Christmas tree stood inside but so in tune is each decorative detail of the place that everything seems in season year-round. Inside is a rustic candy store and bakery where visitors can buy anything from cinnamon rolls to chocolate covered pretzels and pay with either cash, check or Venmo upon departure. The place operates on an honor system for payment and while few would risk offering such high-quality goods (undoubtedly produced with great effort) based on faith in humanity, there is something about Mrs. Meckler’s Sugar Shack that brings out the best in people. Maybe it’s the earnest unpretentious work behind the place, maybe it is such a testament to our regional ingenuity and fits so well with our local history that New Englanders want it to succeed. The path leading to and from the Sugar Shack is frequented by white-tail deer and the three we saw leaving the place seem to have welcomed it as part of their home as much as the locals who visit it. At their best, the structures of New England were built with and as part of the land. This little candy shop is not only a delight for the sweet-toothed but for a true New England beauty.

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