From 'Nailed It!' winner to candy shop owner, Fayetteville woman one step closer to a dream

Toni Bryant-Chance is technically an award-winning baker, but you won't find any cakes at Suga Mama's Confections, which she expanded from a concession trailer into a brick-and-mortar store in Fayetteville in November. 

"My goal is to run a bakery and not have to bake," she said.

In Bryant-Chance's case, that award came from "Nailed It!", the Netflix show that pits three decidedly amateur bakers against each other in a laugh — and gaffe — filled competition.

So what that the princess on her fantasy-themed cake has been described as the "stuff of nightmares?" That cake was good enough to win Bryant-Chance $10,000 and gave her the opportunity to finance a childhood dream. 

More:Neighborhood candy lady appears on Netflix show 'Nailed It'

She opened Suga Mama's Confections in the Cliffdale Plaza at 6900 Cliffdale Road on Nov. 6. 

A Queens, New York, native, Bryant-Chance grew up hawking candy as a junior-high-school student, selling sticks of gum for a nickel and Little Hugs fruit drinks, or "quarter waters." 

In 2015, she began selling candy to neighborhood kids out of her home off Rim Road. The candy and other snacks were cheap. 

"If you came with a dollar, you were rich," she said. 

Bryant-Chance embraced the role of mentor and candy lady. Soon entire sports teams would stop over to satisfy their sweet tooth. She hosted Christmas parties, contests, gift basket giveaways and other fun events. She became so well known that her landlord started calling her the "sugar mama," a name Bryant-Chance happily embraced. 

"I've always been a connoisseur of candy," she said. 

The budding business began to grow, and she soon purchased a concession trailer — thanks largely to her youngest daughter. Tamiko Dixon, now 17 and already a Fayetteville Technical Community College graduate, is fluent in Spanish and handled the entire sale with the Spanish-speaking seller. 

Nowadays Dixon is the store's "candy manager," in charge not only of helping and serving customers but keeping tabs on the latest in candy trends. 

The store stocks a variety of both classic and new candies, candied strawberries and grapes, sodas, popcorn, snow cones, cotton candy spun to order and other sweets, but it's been the ice cream that's been one of the biggest draws. The shop serves Blue Bell ice cream, available as a milkshake, sundae or in a variety of different cones, including cinnamon sugar and pink vanilla.

Bryant-Chance said she's applied to accept EBT and expects to be able to accept SNAP benefits soon. 

It may have been Bryant-Chance's dream to open a store like this, but this is only the beginning, she said. Her ultimate goal is to open a restaurant like Sugar Factory, the national candy shop and restaurant chain with over-the-top milkshakes and desserts meant to be eaten with your eyes first, or something like Cracker Barrel, where the vintage candies, sodas and other sweets are almost as much of a draw as the country cooking. 

"This is a stepping stone to that ultimate goal," she said. 

Suga Mama's Confections is open Thursday to Sunday, from 1 to 9 p.m. In the spring, they plan to extend their hours for "Suga Mama's After Dark," when the store will stay open until midnight on Friday night and 2 a.m. on Saturday night. 

Jacob Pucci writes on food, restaurants and business. Contact him by email at jpucci@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @jacobpucci or on Facebook. Like talking food? Join our Fayetteville Foodies Facebook group.