On East Market Street, Samuel’s Sweet Shop caters to the eyes as well as the stomach. Frosting and pastel colors, nostalgic packaging, and amusing names like Sour Rainbow Belts, Muzzle Loaders, and Clodhoppers lure you into a variety of candies, desserts, and pastries displayed on counters and stacked on shelves. But do you know who owns Samuel’s Sweet Shop?
Samuel’s Sweet Shop, a confectionery store in Rhinebeck, New York, has been co-owned by Paul Rudd and Jeffrey Dean Morgan since 2014. After the former owner, a friend of theirs, died unexpectedly, they saved it from being shut.
How Did Samuel’s Sweet Shop End Up with Paul Rudd and Jeffrey Dean Morgan?
When Samuel’s owner Ira Gutner died in April 2014, devoted customers, actors, their wives, and the third couple with ties to the entertainment business stepped in to preserve the shop from closing. They’ve also helped put Samuel’s in the spotlight in recent months by promoting the company on national television shows.
Despite the fact that the 22-year-old store’s coffee and cakes are warmed by the glow of Hollywood, it retains its local character under the guidance of a Rhinebeck resident who started working at Samuel’s 15 years ago.
When John Traver was 15, he started working for Gutner. Traver received encouragement from the group of actors and their families to keep Samuel’s going as Gutner’s estate maintained the store after his death before they purchased it in December 2014.
Traver, who now runs the store’s day-to-day operations as a partner, said the company is growing.
When I was 15, it was fun to go to work and sell candy and coffee. Now, it’s more of a different thing. We need to have this business grow and be as successful as possible, so we can employ more local people, so we can buy more products from our local artisans.
John Traver
(Source: Poughkeepsie Journal)
Who was the Sweet Shop Named After?
Samuel was Gutner’s uncle. Gutner, his father, and his uncle Sam used to go to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to see the New York Giants play. The trio would go to Pot Roast Sadie’s, which was a part deli, part penny candy store, as part of their game-day ritual, according to Traver. That incident, according to Traver, ingrained in Gutner a fondness for sweets stores.
Gutner worked in the clothing industry in New York City as an adult. In 1993, he explored Rhinebeck and discovered a void where he had hoped to find a sweets store. As a result, he opened Samuel’s and named it after his uncle.
Traver came into the picture and gradually increased his responsibilities. He attended Union College in Schenectady after graduating from Rhinebeck High School in 2004 and continued to work at Samuel’s throughout his holidays and breaks.
Morgan, Rudd, and their families became regular customers along the way. Morgan and Gutner got along well so far. Traver discovered that the Rudds were friends with the Morgans at the Dutchess County Fair.
Gutner died of a heart attack at home in April 2014. Hundreds of people attended his funeral in Rhinebeck. Samuel’s future was also unknown. Traver was concerned that the store would close. (Source: Poughkeepsie Journal)