If your familiar with Bergen County, you most likely know Hanna Krause Homemade Candies next to Garden State Plaza in Paramus. It looks like a white gingerbread house! Many people drive on Route 17 and think the building is abandoned, trust me it's not. I have been working there for 4 years and I have seen the line outside the store on Valentine's day.

Customers are always coming inside saying, "It smells amazing in here!" Too bad majority of the employees do not smell it. We also hear customers say, "If I worked here I would work 500 pounds!" After awhile you stop eating it because you're used to it.

Each holiday is a different experience and many people do not realize all the hard work. Halloween is not super busy. Thanksgiving picks up a little more. Christmas is mostly corporate orders. It feels like you are working in Santa's workshop, but with candy instead of toys. Valentine's Day is out of control on February 13th and 14th. If you're not getting chocolate covered strawberries, come earlier. Then the last big holiday is Easter, chocolate bunnies everywhere.

Hanna Krause is so much more to me than a candy store, it's my second family. Honestly there are days that I hate going to work because I'm having a bad day, but my coworkers are there to make it better. We're family and I know I could call any of them for anything.

I don't always enjoy packing boxes or decorating chocolate pops, but I can't imagine working anywhere else while I'm going to school. I love my second family and I love walking around joking about how one day I'll be the future owner (maybe one day it will be true). This is not just a job anymore, it's more like a hobby.