Behind the Business: The Pecan House

MCHENRY, Miss. (WLOX) - One business in McHenry can be spotted off Highway 49 and stands out due to its vintage cabin look.

The history of The Pecan House dates back roughly two decades. Generation after generation, The Pecan House has been known for its homemade pecan candies.

“We hand-dip everything here. We hand-dip the pecans and we hand-dip the clusters,” said store manager Chelsey Caudill.

Everything has been handcrafted since 1984, when The Pecan House opened for business.

“My great-grandmother opened it. First, it was only pecans, only fudge, and pecan pies and stuff like that, no décor,” said Caudill. “Later on, when my grandma took over, she kind of expanded it.”

Caudill says her great-grandmother, Barbara, experienced a lot of trial and error with recipes and even business, but never gave up.

Now, more than 40 years later, the business is strong and steady, just like its foundation.

“The front of the building is made from the old pickle vats from the factory in Wiggins that’s no longer there. The old flooring is mainly original. We had to redo some after Katrina hit, but we tried to keep as much as possible,’ said Caudill.

After experiencing growth over the years, The Pecan House has expanded in more ways than one.

“Back in 1984, when my great-grandmother started, they had a warehouse. They would buy locally and crack them themselves. Eventually, when the business started to grow, we had to outsource it. So we go through a broker, and he gets them from all over the south,” said Caudill.

Home décor, paintings, candles, and more all now have a home inside The Pecan House.

Caudill said she and the other employees keep busy year-round. However, Christmas has always been peak season.

“We do a lot of Christmas orders, we do a lot of corporate orders. We are able to put gift baskets together or gift boxes, and we ship them as well,” said Caudill. “That starts gearing up for us around October. It seems a little earlier every year.”

Caudill said that about 10 years ago, they had to expand to keep up with continuous growth. The hope is to keep expanding in the future.

“It seems like every single year we’re getting a little busier and we’re running out of space.”

The Pecan House officially opened its second location at 8930 Lorraine Road in Gulfport in January 2015.

The original location is at 441 Highway 49 in McHenry.

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