Collegetown Candy and Nuts served its last ice cream cone this past Tuesday, shutting its Dryden Road doors after a nine-year run.

“The recession happened, and Starbucks came in,” said Owner Caroline Green Wald ’94, J.D. ’98 of the store’s failing. “I also spent a lot less time here as my family grew. I have three little kids, and when I started [the store], I had none.”

Wald opened the store in January of 2001. With an ideal location next to the Royal Palm Tavern, the store began a slow but steady rise in popularity amongst students and locals. Wald notes that business increased every year “dramatically” until about 18 months ago.

Instrumental in the store’s success was Tasti D-Lite ice cream, a low-fat soft serve treat that quickly became Wald’s star attraction.

“I’m sad about the closing, because the ice cream was really good,” said Caroline Everett, an Ithaca resident who was helping Wald pack up the store. “This was the only place in Ithaca you could get that.”

Though Wald said that last year’s sales figures were unimpressive, she decided to open the store again after this past summer break since the month of September generally showcases the most lucrative revenue stream of the year with the influx of students to Ithaca. In September, however, sales persistently lagged. Eventually, Wald saw no point in enduring losses, and said she kept the store open until it ran out of Tasti D-lite, which was this past Tuesday.

In addition to the ice cream, there were several candies the store sold that can be found nowhere else in town. Among them are “sour belts,” and Kookaburra licorice from Australia. Indeed, it was Collegetown Candy and Nuts that introduced chocolate covered gummy bears to Ithaca, a sugary delight now found in several Collegetown locations.

Despite closing her candy store, Wald has other revenue streams to fall back on. Ward manages a retail business, and uses her Cornell law education to work as a ghost writer for other lawyers’ briefs.

“Owning your own business is the best thing in the world, everyone should do it,” Wald said. “Answering to other people is not as fun as answering to yourself. You don’t have to wear a suit, you are your own boss, you can wear whatever you want.”

Though Wald said she made great connections with the majority of her customers, she also noted that stealing was a daily nuisance in the store. Because candy is so small and expendable, many customers would eat pieces in front of her without paying, a habit she says may be small in its financial effect, but speaks volumes about one’s morals.

“Not all customers are as gracious as they should be,” Wald said. “That kind of attitude among college students, with no sense of values or grounding, is what gives college students a bad name.”

Still, Wald insists there is no ill will towards her customers or her competitors.

“We had 9 years, I’m not bitter towards Starbucks,” Wald said. “If people have a product they want to spend their money on, and it’s not Tasty D-Lite, I’m fine with that. We made some money, had some laughs, now it’s time to move on.”

Students have expressed their disappointment with the closing as well.

“I am most upset about the closing of Collegetown Candy and Nuts,” Cody Ernst ’12 said. “The prospect of me having to find a new guilty pleasure in this town is daunting.”That’s all folks ...: Collegetown Candy and Nuts has closed after selling its last scoop of ice cream.