Downtown’s new sweet spot

STEVENS POINT - Caed Confections chocolate shop has moved to a new storefront location next to Mission Coffee House in downtown Stevens Point and making Main Street a sweeter place.
Presley Rhode, owner and head chocolatier of Caed Confections, is new to chocolate-making and is eager to share joy with the community through her treats. “I was a baker for 12 years, but I always felt like making chocolate was out of reach because I never went to culinary school,” said Rhode. “Then I decided last winter to take a chocolate-making class, and I fell in love with it.”
“I’ve always loved chocolate,” said Rhode. “It’s just one ingredient, but there are so many things you can do with it.”
The shop’s unique name is an homage to the importance of family in Rhode’s life. “It’s named after my kids,” said Presley. “I have two little boys: Canaan and Eden, so we took two letters from each name to create Caed Confections.”
Rhodes’ sons enjoy visiting the shop and sampling the new sweets their mom creates. “They think it’s really cool that their mom is a chocolatier,” she said.

Before this, Rhode was working out of a shared-use kitchen in Wisconsin Rapids. “With making chocolate, you need to have temperature control, and they didn’t at that facility,” said Rhode. “I had been looking for my own space for a while, and I got pretty lucky with finding this one.”
“There were so many people who kept telling me how much downtown Point needed a chocolate shop or candy store,” said Rhode.
“There’s just something about being creative in the kitchen that I love,” said Rhode. “It’s also so rewarding when someone takes a bite and I can see the joy on their face.”
Caed Confections offers a variety of homemade sweets. Customers can select chocolates from the display case to build their own box, or purchase a pre-made box or chocolate bar. “We specialize in filled bonbons, and we also have gourmet candy bars, toffee, candied pecans, and more,” said Rhode.
For those who aren’t fans of chocolate, Caed Confections also sells a host of other sweets provided by other companies, including gummies, licorice, hard candies, flavored marshmallows, and homemade cotton candy. Throughout the year, the shop will create seasonal offerings, including Christmas treats, filled chocolate hearts for Valentine’s Day, and filled chocolate eggs for Easter.
In addition to the storefront downtown, the sweets made by Caed Confections are also offered at nine wholesale locations, including Feltz’s Dairy Store, Bound to Happen Books, and The Rose House Cafe.