Owner Michelle Mills said she opened Sugar Rush in April, because the Magnolia community needed a family-friendly hangout and sweets shop. Sugar Rush, located at 519 Acker St., behind the Malcolm Purvis Library, offers a selection of candy, coffee and Blue Bell ice cream.

“There is nothing like [this] here,” she said. “You can go eat food. But there is no place for desserts, coffee and Wi-Fi [where] you can come and relax.”

Sugar Rush offers hot and iced lattes, cappuccinos and other coffee drinks. Customers can buy sugary candies, such as M&Ms and Pucker Powder, by the pound as well. Additionally, the shop offers indoor and outdoor seating, a comfortable lounge with couches and chairs, and free Wi-Fi. Seasonal selections of sweets like Dr Pepper cotton candy are also available.

Mills, who has been a Magnolia business owner for more than 15 years, said she opened the sweets shop this spring after relocating her hair salon Colorful Techniques. She moved the salon into another building in the same lot behind Sugar Rush, she said.

She and her husband, Shannon, asked their three children—Delayne, Clayton and Jax—what they should do with the old space, Mills said.

“One said coffee, one said candy, and one said ice cream,” she said.

With much inspiration and input from her children, Mills said she opened the shop to teach her children how to run a business, have a job and be responsible.

“I hope my kids learn the value of hard work, the value of being able to make money and use it appropriately, and how to be nice to people through customer service,” she said. “I do not want to raise kids who think they do not have to work for what they want.”

Mills employs a daytime staff, but her children work in the shop after school. She still works full time at her hair salon, but the close proximity makes it easy to manage both, she said.

“This is a fun atmosphere,” Mills said. “We have a lot of teens who want to work here. But I cannot employ them until we get busier.”

Mills said she plans to host movie nights in the shop’s backyard and begin selling snow cones with shaved ice later this summer. She said she hopes the summer traffic and word-of-mouth will help increase the store’s visibility.

“I have seen faces I have not seen in a while,” she said. “I like to see the kids come in after school, laughing and joking. It’s fun to watch the kids have fun.”