ANGELL & PHELPS / DAYTONA BEACH
AN APPRECIATION BY ROB URBAN
Two names.
A century
of sweetness.
Riddell Angell. Cora Phelps.
And a story still being made.
Before Angell & Phelps was a familiar Daytona Beach name, it was two people’s names.
Riddell Angell and Cora Phelps began the chocolate business on Mackinac Island, Michigan, in 1925. The Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau’s history describes the women spending winters in Daytona Beach, where they also opened a shop, before concentrating the business there around the start of World War II.
I like to pause on those names.
A long-lived business can become so familiar that its beginning fades into the background. Remembering the founders brings back the personal scale: two women making something, finding customers and deciding to keep going.
The company still carries their names into another century.
Ice, fans
and determination.
Victoria Bennett’s account in the Halifax Historical Society’s April 2026 newsletter adds a vivid detail about the Florida chapter.
Working without air conditioning in the shop, the founders used blocks of ice and large fans to manage the heat.
That detail makes their determination easier to picture. Chocolate-making had to happen in a real room, in a real climate, with practical problems to solve.
I admire the resourcefulness in that story.
It reminds me that the survival of a business is built from decisions people make day after day. A century is an impressive span, but it begins with getting through the afternoon’s work.
The kettle.
The marble.
The recipe.
The same historical account says some original recipes remain in use, along with a copper kettle and marble slab brought from Michigan.
Those objects make continuity tangible.
A recipe carries knowledge in words and proportions. A tool carries the evidence of work performed with it. Together, they connect the people making candy today with people who worked long before them.
That is what interests me about an enduring craft business. Its history can remain involved in ordinary production.
The company’s own account emphasizes traditional recipes and techniques. Seen alongside the museum’s description of those surviving tools, the long history has a physical presence.
Beach Street
remembers.
The Historical Society also places the current shop in the former Dunn Hardware and Toy Store building at 154 South Beach Street.
That gives this one address more than one chapter in Daytona’s commercial life.
Different generations came to the building for different reasons. A chocolate shop adds its own kind of anticipation: choosing a favorite, finding a gift or bringing something home to share.
I am drawn to businesses that become part of a street’s memory this way. Their contribution includes the repeated, ordinary reasons people have for walking through a door.
The city’s history lives partly in those errands and pleasures.
A window into
today’s work.
Angell & Phelps also makes its present-day work visible.
The company welcomes visitors to the viewing areas for a self-guided look at the candy-making process. It is explicit that guided factory tours are no longer offered.
I appreciate the invitation to watch.
Seeing someone work can deepen attention to a familiar treat. There are hands, movements and stages behind a finished piece of candy, and a window gives them a place in the visitor’s experience.
For visiting plans, use the company’s current information and confirm when production will be taking place. The experience is a self-guided viewing opportunity, with activity depending on the working day.
Something sweet
to bring home.
The Daytona Beach Chocolate Bar offers a simple way to carry a connection to the city home. Its official listing includes milk, dark and white chocolate versions.
I like that a small gift can hold a place name.
A person can give it with a story: this is where I went, this is what I found, and I thought you would enjoy it.
What I admire about Angell & Phelps is the way its history stays close to those human exchanges. The founders’ names endure, old tools remain part of the story, people make candy and someone chooses a piece to share.
That is a sweet kind of continuity for a city to have.
Continue through Companies I Admire. If your business carries a tradition people love, I would enjoy hearing its story.
Rob Urban
The history and the visit.
Who founded Angell & Phelps?
Riddell Angell and Cora Phelps started the business on Mackinac Island, Michigan, in 1925. Their business later became centered in Daytona Beach.
Does Angell & Phelps offer guided factory tours?
No. The official site explicitly says guided factory tours are no longer offered. Visitors are welcome to use the self-guided viewing areas; check current production and visiting information directly with the company.
Where is the shop?
The company lists its address as 154 South Beach Street in Daytona Beach. The Halifax Historical Society identifies the building as the former Dunn Hardware and Toy Store.
What historical tools are mentioned?
The Halifax Historical Society’s April 2026 account describes a copper kettle and marble slab brought from Michigan, alongside original recipes still in use.