Shape Warm Candy Canes Inside Jacksonville's Candy Mansion
A one-hour holiday class in the historic Seminole Club, where a candy maker pulls the batch and you bend it into canes.
Sweet Pete's runs its candy shop out of the historic Seminole Club in Downtown Jacksonville, a three-story building of about 23,000 square feet that the company nicknames its candy mansion. This is a Christmas-season class. As of November 2, 2026, the booking calendar lists sessions from November 10 to December 31, with none on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day.
The work is split in two. A candy maker mixes and cooks the batch, adds the stripes and pulls it on a hook. Once it cools enough to touch, the warm candy comes to you, and you shape it into canes or any other form you like.
Every seat on the booking page costs USD 16 as of November 2, 2026, and adults and children pay the same. Each seat brings home its own canes. The listing promises six to eight per person, while the store's own booking page for this class says four to seven, so plan on a handful.
Candy Cane Making ClassOne-hour candy cane class at Sweet Pete's in Downtown Jacksonville, with the canes you shape to take home.www.viator.comThe Candy Maker Pulls, You Do the Shaping
The listing walks through the process. Ingredients are mixed in a pot and cooked to a high temperature, then formed into a log, striped and pulled on the candy hook. Your hands come in once the batch has cooled enough to touch, and that is when you shape the canes. A December 2025 guest described the same split: a staff member did the work, and the guests made the shapes.
The pulling is worth watching. A December 2024 guest wrote that they "did like seeing the use of the hook to see how the candy turns to white by adding air." Another wished the class came with tools or molds, since every cane is shaped freehand. The listing says you can make traditional canes or other shapes.
Inside the Seminole Club, Dressed for December
Sweet Pete Behringer grew up around his mother's chocolate business and opened his own candy shop in 2010. After a 2014 feature on CNBC's The Profit, the company opened a new downtown location in the Seminole Club. The store calls the building one of the largest candy shops in the United States, stocked with more than a thousand kinds of candy.
Walking in costs nothing. The store's FAQ says anyone can visit the building and take a self-guided look at the candy kitchen, so the class can be one stop in a longer visit. One guest walked the rooms and ate a quick meal at the restaurant on site before class.
Who Needs a Seat
Only paid participants go into the candy-making room, so a parent who wants to stand beside a child needs a seat too. The store's FAQ says children under 16 must come with a paid adult, while its booking page for this class sets that line at 13. Plan on the stricter age. The booking page here charges every age the same and does not require an adult on the order, so add the adult seat yourself.
By the store's account, the building has a ramp at the front entrance and an indoor wheelchair lift to the elevator, which matches the wheelchair-access notes on the listing. The store's main candy kitchen is strictly gluten free but also processes peanuts, tree nuts, egg and milk.
Check-In, Parking and the Clock
Check in at the candy concierge desk on the first floor. One guest arrived early in case parking was a problem, and another wrote that street parking was not easy, so leave time to find a space.
The listing books a 60-minute session, and one guest put the whole class at about 30 minutes. Cancel at least 24 hours before the start time for a full refund. Inside 24 hours, the booking is not refundable.
Sessions start between 10:30 AM and 4:00 PM, with up to three on December 26. Afterward the canes go home with you, and the rest of the candy mansion is still there to wander.