Mt. Airy candy store to help cancer research

MT. AIRY (WPVI) -- A local business owner has come up with a sweet plan to bring smiles to the faces of people in her community, as well as raise money for a cause close to her heart.

Over the last two years Wendy Weinstein has fallen in love with Mount Airy, home to her Ground Zero hair salon.

She says its warmth and community make it perfect for Sugar Hill, the penny candy store she's set to open next door to her shop.

"I remember when I grew up in the Northeast, we would go as kids, we would run up to the penny candy store after school and just have fun and just be there, it was just a place to meet," Weinstein said.

And Weinstein says she's taking the "penny" part seriously.

"You can come in with 25 cents and walk out with a handful of candy," Weinstein said.

And the sweetest part of this may be the money and the awareness it'll bring to fighting cancer.

Weinstein says she will donate a nickel of every dollar to City of Hope, the cancer research and aid center.

And it's not just philanthropy, it's personal.

After decades of helping cancer organizations, Weinstein found a lump under her own arm 18 months ago. Customers got used to her doing their hair even as she did chemo and lost all of her own.

"I had been helping people with cancer, and now it was me, I needed the help," Weinstein said.

"But what a great thing this is. I'm grateful for every dollar, but it teaches kids philanthropy," City of Hope's Harry Giordano said.

But one thing is a little weird.

The store has great decorations, like classic Hess trucks and an antique register. But the bins are a little empty.

"Ask the Board of Health. I'm hoping it's open soon. We're just waiting on them to come over and inspect it. But we're done, we're ready," Weinstein said.

Here's hoping the city puts a sugar rush on it.