+*,(-'''!*+./.0
SWEET SPOT BY AMELIA RODRIGUEZ
!
hannon Dove, co-owner of Hillcrest candy store The Candy Pushers , isn’t a sweets person—but she
they’d decided to pivot their careers. “[They said,] ‘Would you be willing to take over a brick-and-mortar?’” Shannon recalls. “I turned to Melissa and I said, ‘Is it absolutely irrational and impulsive right now to just say yes ?’” “I said, ‘F- no,’” Melissa chimes in. “‘This is our dream knocking on the door.’” The couple became the first LGBTQ owners of the 27-year-old Candy Depot in 2020, eventually renaming it The Candy Pushers and moving to a larger location on University Avenue. Beyond treating sweet tooths, the couple aims to provide a sober, LGBTQ-friendly space in a bar-heavy gay scene. They host game nights, comedy shows, open mics. “Having something for [LGBTQ youth] to do in Hillcrest is so important,” Shannon says. “They can be around other gay people and see that it’s going to be okay, that there’s a community for them.”
assures me that digging sugar isn’t a requirement for running a candy shop. What you have to love, she says, is selling candy. “It’s the most amazing thing to see somebody come in and you can tell they’ve had a bad day, and by the time they get their bag of candy and come to the register, they have a smile on their face,” Shannon explains. Shannon found her passion for vending treats at Hillcrest shop Candy Depot, where she was a sales associate for three years. She departed Candy Depot to launch a mobile candy business with her wife, Melissa Dove, slinging sweets at Pride events and music festivals—then the pandemic struck. But as stores started to open back up, the Doves received a call from the owners of Candy Depot, who told them that
!"#$%&!'(')**$' EVERY KID HAS THE ABILITY to teleport. The moment they open a book, their powers kick into high gear, and, suddenly, they’re sword-dueling pirates at sea, drinking tea with woodland animals, and riding dragons through the clouds. While every child can dream, not all can easily get to a bookstore. But, with Joyride Bookshop , the magic comes to them. Before starting Joyride—their children’s bookstore on wheels—co-founders Katie Turner and Susie Horn envisioned a way to provide a diverse selection of books to all children, everywhere. In 2020, the pair did what any entrepreneurs would do: buy an old, funky-looking pick-up truck. After adding a fresh coat of bright BY LILI KIM turquoise paint and bookshelves in the truck bed, Turner and Horn set off to bring stories to children throughout San Diego. Since then, Joyride has expanded to two cozy stationary shops (one in Liberty Station and one in The New Children’s Museum), but the pair continues to bring their book-mobile to community and private events. What sets Joyride apart is its aim to offer books that resonate with every child’s story, no matter their identity or experience. This means the truck’s shelves are filled with underrepresented but important narratives, from the tale of a little girl driving across the border to school every day to that of a young boy who happens to have only one leg. You certainly don’t have to be a kid to see the magic Turner and Horn are creating for little readers.
67 SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker