Ryba’s Fudge Shops Spotlight: Mackinac Island, Michigan

No cars are allowed on Mackinac Island, time moves differently there, and somehow everything tastes better when you are a mile offshore in the middle of the Straits of Mackinac. Ryba’s Fudge Shops is as much a part of the Mackinac Island experience as the horses, the Grand Hotel, and the view from Arch Rock.

The Ryba family has been making fudge on Mackinac Island since 1960, and in that time they have turned a single shop into one of the most recognized names in Michigan tourism. Multiple locations across the island give visitors plenty of opportunities to stop, watch the candy makers work through the shop windows, and walk away with a box of fudge that somehow disappears before the ferry ride home is over.

The fudge itself is made the traditional way, poured hot onto marble slabs and worked by hand until it reaches the right consistency. Watching it made is part of the experience, a demonstration of craft that draws crowds to the windows every summer day. The flavor selection covers classics and seasonal specialties, but the chocolate and the turtle fudge are where most first-timers land.

Mackinac Island draws more than a million visitors each year, and the fudge shops of the island have become so integral to the experience that island visitors are sometimes called “fudgies” by year-round residents. Ryba’s is where many of them got the name.

Visit at rybasfudge.com. Mackinac Island is reached by ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace.

Michigan Small Business Spotlight is proud to feature Ryba’s Fudge Shops as one of Northern Michigan’s most iconic and beloved small businesses.