Meet the couple and delightful owners of sweet shop

Tucked away towards the back of the market in the Mall, Sugar Rush is a stall stocked like a child’s dream buffet.

Owners Ray Dixon and Hazel Dean bought the shop from the previous owners 15 years ago when it was at the old market and now work minimum 12-hour days to keep the business running.

The shop is open Monday to Saturday and closed on a Sunday when the owners spend half a day purchasing stock, working tirelessly all week to keep the business operating and their customers happy.

Sugar Rush was another of our readers' favourite independent businesses which we are shining a light on for Independents Day UK, which takes place all week with a major focus this weekend.

Sugar Rush shelves stacked with sweets and chocolate

Being the owners of Sugar Rush isn’t just the sweet life you may expect.

Ray shared just how much hard graft goes on behind the scenes: “You’ve got to commit to this 100 per cent because otherwise you take your foot off and it’s gone.

“If you’re not keeping on top of the accounts and the books at all times, someone will be there before you instead.”

“But we really enjoy it, if you put the hours in you can make a living out of it and it’s a very sociable living.”

Since they’ve owned the stall the husband and wife have gotten to know their customers like friends.

Ray said: “You can put a clock on them (regulars). Before Covid you could even say about 70 per cent were regulars.

“If we weren’t there, we’d get told off next time saying ‘where were you when I came the other day?' They would keep us in check, but that’s what markets were like before Covid.

“A lot of places say the markets are dying, but here we’re getting a good balance of the generations.

"It was better before Covid, we used to get even more when we’d have three generations coming on a Saturday because nana used to come.”

Another image of the Sugar Rush shop in Blackburn Market

Ray and Hazel have young grandchildren aged five and nine who they’d love to see involved with the business in the future.

“I bring them into the shop on a Sunday when I bring them buying with me and they get all the freebies,” Ray joked.

“They won’t give me a hand, they have a sit down saying ‘no, we’re too tired now grandad’.”

Business had been a consistent success until Covid hit, and the pandemic unfortunately resulted in a loss of older customers because they don’t feel comfortable coming out.

Ray added: “People are still nervous, but I think it’ll come back so we just need to get our head down and keep working.”

Owners Ray and Hazel

The couple used to have another sweet shop at the opposite corner of the market where if one shop ran out of something, some loyal customers “would refuse to come here or wouldn’t go to the other one,” Ray said, despite it being the same owners and stock.

While many shoppers are stuck in their old ways and stick with what’s familiar like some of Sugar Rush’s dedicated customers, the owners shared that they’ve had to make changes and adapt after the pandemic in order to keep the business a welcoming and safe place.

The serve yourself method to Pick n Mixs is a huge part of the sweet shop experience, but after the pandemic the owners decided it was best to move on from it.

“That’s the difference between good businesses. It’s those that move with it and adapt for the better. Our pick n mix was spotless, and we had a five-star standard (rating) but we’d never do it again because it just doesn’t feel right now.”

From checking ingredients are vegan or halal, to their in depth product knowledge to the cleanliness, Ray and Hazel notice that their customers appreciate everything they do.

Ray added: “As simple as it is, there’s a hell of a lot of trust with our customers and you can see it on their faces just how happy they are when you can help them.”