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CANDY FOR A CAUSE ... Nestled in a quaint neighborhood on the Palo Alto/Los Altos border is this area's newest candy store. The Sweet Shop at 994 Los Altos Ave. celebrated its grand opening Oct. 3. But store owner Stacy Sullivan is not a typical entrepreneur. "We didn't get into this to make money," she said. What? "We kept seeing this dilapidated building in our neighborhood and we decided we wanted to make it into something special: a gathering place for the community. And it was also time to give back," said Sullivan, who was an early hire at Google (number 50). She bought the 70-year-old building and spent two years working with the city, the community and designers to create her dream of an old-fashioned candy store. Sullivan, who grew up in Los Altos Hills, says she plans to give all profits from The Sweet Shop to local schools. The building, vacant for four years, is rich with history. The 700-square-foot store began as the Santa Rita Food Shop in the 1940s. It became Foodland about 20 years later and continued as a local market until 2004. After a four-year vacancy it is once again open for business, but this time with an emphasis on sustainability and restored charm. Sullivan, who still works for Google, has apparently thought of everything for the shop — including a landscaped garden with drought-resistant plants, a solar-paneled roof, and candy jars made of glass, not plastic, to ensure non-toxicity.

Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, October 30, 2009, 12:00 AM