There will be a Lions Club Candy Store in Hillsboro this year.

When the Hillsboro Lions Club closed the door on its more than 72 years of service to the community on Nov. 8, many local residents wanted to know if there would still be a holiday candy store the club had operated for years. Former club member Bonnie Parr said she asked other clubs to take the store over and found no takers. But then the Lynchburg Lions Club came to the rescue.

In addition to manning its own candy store in Lynchburg, the Lynchburg Lions Club will also offer one in Hillsboro.

It will not be open daily like the former store was, but Lynchburg Lions Club member Jim Faust said that starting Wednesday, Nov. 28, the club will have a Hillsboro store open at 132 S. High St. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

The club will also sell candy in Lynchburg at Southern Hills Community Bank and Lukas Pharmacy through December during regular business hours.

“It’s going to stretch our manpower a little, but we think we can do it, and basically we’re kind of looking at it as a service to the Hillsboro community,” Faust said.

He said the Hillsboro store will not have as much variety as it has in the past, but the locations in both towns will have 22 varieties of candy choose from.

There will be no sugar free candy.

“It will be the kinds that are the most popular,” Faust said. “It’s a big expense for us, and when we buy in great big units we don’t want to get stuck with a bunch of stuff we can’t sell.”

He said the club will also have a limited number of regular size kitchen brooms for sale.

All three locations will open Nov. 28. They will remain open until at least Christmas, with a goal of being completely sold out by Jan. 1.

He said the candy will be bagged in Lynchburg and then transported in crates to Hillsboro.

Faust said that when the Lynchburg club was exploring opening a Hillsboro store, one thing it wanted to avoid was a big rent bill. But he said that Jim Gibbs of Gibbs Associates Insurance offered the former Democratic Party headquarters on South High Street in Hillsboro free of charge.

“Another good thing is the candy prices are still very good,” Faust said. “Only one or two changed from last year, and we’re just going to absorb that. We’re not trying to gouge anyone.”

For instance, he said, a nice-sized bag of orange slices will sell for $2. He said all the candy is guaranteed to be fresh and of good quality.

All three locations will have signs on the windows to help local residents find them, Faust said.

“So many people were used to buying from the Lions Club, including several groups that buy large amounts, and we didn’t want them to go without that,” Faust said. “Hopefully, we’ll make some money, and 100 percent of that will go back into the communities. Our whole desire is to provide a service.”

For more information call 937-288-2235 or 937-364-6101.

Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522.