A brand new old fashioned sweet shop has opened in Reading town centre much to the delight of our residents with a sweet tooth. 

Mr Simms, which also has another location on Broad Street, has just opened a new store in The Oracle shopping centre. 

Speaking directly with the shop's manager Naveen Narwal, he said that business has been great since they opened last week. 

"We have been lucky to open at the time that we did because we have seen lots of people coming in as it is the school holidays," Mr Narwal said. 

"Lots of kids wanting to buy sweets!"

Mr Narwal continued to say that this is his first time working in the company, and is proud to take on the managerial role.

He continued "I used to work with the owner before in a different business so we already knew each other, so it was good to continue working with him."

When asked what their best sellers are, Mr Narwal said that American candy always flies off the shelves, and pick and mix is always a favourite too. 

"The best seller is our Jolly Ranchers, American sweets are very popular among the kids as I guess it is something new," he said. 

"Pick and mix is also very popular with the younger people who come in to buy sweets."

Mr Narwal said that for the older crowd they tend to go for the more traditional sweets that are sold in jars behind the counter. 

"Some people prefer the older classic sweets. These include fudge, sherbet lemons, coconut mushrooms and so on."

Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shop experienced a renaissance in 2020, when it introduced a new design for its franchisees, replacing brown branding with yellow. 

And the first shop to use this new branding was opened by franchisee Babar Butt and his brother in Reading. 

Mr Butt said: "They rebranded, this was the first shop with the new branding in the whole country. 

"We opened then a couple of months after we had to shut down. For the first three months we really struggled because it was a new business and then it shut down.

"After one of the lockdowns we were designated a food business so we could open, but still it wasn't great. 

"As soon as we were back fully open, we started picking up and now we are doing ok. 

"People have their lifetime stories with these sweets. People say 'when I was a kid, I had this.'

"One customer said 'when I was in boarding school in the 1960s, my grandad used to see me and give me these midget gems' so he comes and buys them and says 'whenever I buy these sweets, I remember my grandad'. 

"People have stories of these sweets. We try to sell mostly traditional stuff that's unique."

Mr Butt and his brother opened Mr Simms in Basingstoke in 2018 and Guildford in 2019.