For sale: sweet shop with heart

[attach]3458[/attach]He sweetened palates by profession, and warmed hearts by trade.

As Roncesvalles’ beloved candy man for almost two decades, Oknam Yang was a neighbourhood fixture.

It’s perhaps no surprise then that when he passed away suddenly from a heart attack in mid-December, 30 or so volunteers from the neighbourhood poured into Sweet Thrills to help keep the little candy shop running.

“It was so overwhelming — we just couldn’t say no,” says Yang’s brother-in-law, Michael Kang, who is temporarily running the store. From under the counter he takes out a folder jammed with papers, a make-shift volunteers’ instruction manual for running the store.

“We just said ‘yeah — go ahead, here’s the keys,’” Kang says. “I think it was important for people in the neighbourhood to get a sense that they were part of the store, they were part of our family as well.”

Working in shifts, volunteers opened and closed the store from Dec. 19 to the 31st, long enough to help keep the store running through the busy Christmas season Yang had been preparing for before suffering the heart attack on Dec. 18. Even suppliers lent a hand, making special trips to help work out quantities.

But despite the outpouring of warmth and offers of help, the family is now looking to sell the store. Though a difficult decision, Kang says it came down to a choice between selling the house and leaving the area or selling the store and staying.

“The main thing for me wasn’t so much the store, but to see if we could keep the family in the area. They’ve been here 22 years,” Kang says.

With Yang’s eldest daughter months away from becoming a commissioned officer in the armed forces and his younger son and daughter about to enter university next year, Kang says the only way to keep the store going would have been for his sister Jenny, Yang’s wife, to quit her job. And that would have meant moving.

The family says it would like to see the store taken over by someone else from the community. They’ve put the word out to the Howard Park Parents Association that they’re looking for a buyer and already there has been some interest, though Kang says it will take at least a few months before any sale might go through.

[attach]3459[/attach]What is certain though is that whoever eventually does take over Sweet Thrills will inherit quite a legacy. Since his passing, young kids and young adults alike have readily shared stories about how Mr. Yang, a onetime police officer in Korea, treated everyone who entered his store with trust and respect.

“He was the neighbourhood sweetheart and everyone loved him,” says Ania Fleszer, a neighbour several stores down. “It was very sad and very tragic. He was such a nice, good man… I think every kid living in this area was his client.”

Generous as well, he handed out hundreds of candy packages to children during Halloween and made regular contributions to area fundraisers.

“He cared about other people’s children,” Kang says. “He would talk to me at home. We would be sitting there having a few drinks and he would say ‘oh so-and-so just got accepted to university.’ And he spoke with such pride. I would say to him ‘they’re not even your kids,’” Kang laughs.

Howard Park Public School is planning a memorial to take place by April and donations of children’s books are being accepted as a tribute to Yang at High Park Library. Information on donating to the library fund can be found at [url=http://www.roncesvallesvillage.ca]roncesvallesvillage.ca[/url].

A trust fund to help out with the Yang kids’ education has also been set up at the TD Bank across the street for those wishing to contribute.