Our Story

The Stever's have been making delicious confections for over half a century. Douglas Stever learned the art of candy making near Philadelphia after his service in World War II. In 1946, he and his wife Hilda opened their first small shop in Rochester at S. Goodman & Benton Street. Despite chocolate shortages and postwar sugar rationing, their pure chocolates and candies gained a loyal clientele, and business began to grow. At one point they were making candy and operating three Stever's shops in the Rochester area, Goodman Street, West Henrietta Road, and Park Avenue.

Since 1970, full operations have been at 623 Park Avenue, on the corner of Vassar Street. Kevin Stever entered the business full-time upon graduation from college. These days, Kevin and his wife Leslie continue making candy in the same location with the same honest, simple insistence on quality. Unlike large, mechanized candy makers that produce chocolates by the truckload, Stever's candies are made fresh each day, just a few at a time, using Doug's original recipes and the finest ingredients. As a family business, we especially love to see families come visit. In fact, "going to Stever's" has been a happy tradition for generations. We often hear customers fondly say "my grandmother used to bring me here!".