Ephrata welcomes a sweet new shop
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months, 2 weeks AGO
Moonbeam Sweets and Treats owner Julie Wittenborn, right, stands with her daughter Finley Wittenborn, left, and Jayden St. Mary, middle. The Wittenborns recently moved to Ephrata from Bend, Oregon where there were multiple shops such as this. Julie said those shops in Oregon were her inspiration in opening Moonbeam.
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
A row of different jars of candies at Moonbeam Sweets and Treats. Julie Wittenborn said the shop orders most of its candy from Annie B’s.
Along with candy and frozen yogurt, Moonbeam Sweets and Treats also sells toys and stuffed animals.
A medium-sized cup of the Dole Whip Pineapple flavor soft serve. Along with this dairy-free option, the shop also features classic frozen yogurt options such as vanilla and chocolate.
The display of fudge at Moonbeam Sweets and Treats. Julie Wittenborn said the fudge has been the most popular product and has sold out multiple times since the shop opened.
Moonbeam Sweets and Treats features a variety of goods including chocolate, popcorn, toys and frozen yogurt. The shop plans to add additional items in the future.
Moonbeam Sweets and Treats is located at 156 First Ave NE in Ephrata. Julie Wittenborn said she appreciates the ongoing support from the community.
EPHRATA — Moonbeam Sweets and Treats is the newest addition to local businesses in Ephrata. The shop is located at 156 First Ave NW and features a variety of different sweet treats.
“This has been a lifelong dream of mine, to own my own place and particularly I like the frozen yogurt and the candy,” said Moonbeam’s owner Julie Wittenborn. “It’s because my girls, when they were young, any time we’d see a shop like this we always had to stop.”
Wittenborn said she and her family moved to Ephrata from Bend, Ore., and while living there she was used to seeing many kinds of candy and novelty shops. While she always wanted to start her own, the market for these kinds of shops was oversaturated in her hometown.
When moving to Ephrata, following her oldest daughter, the first thing she noticed was that the town had the perfect opportunity for her to finally start her dream.
“We saw a huge need that there really wasn’t anything for the younger crowd in Ephrata,” said Wittenborn. “There’s other coffee shops and all of that, but we needed to do something that would be open later in the evening.”
She said from there everything lined up to where she purchased the building, and on Sept. 12, Moonbeam celebrated its grand opening.
“It’s been super amazing. We have been so busy, which is a good thing,” said Wittenborn.
The shop carries sweets such as frozen yogurt, popcorn, and various kinds of candies that they order from Annie B’s candy company, said Wittenborn. They also carry a variety of different toys such as stuffed animals.
“We have our fudge, which has been our number one seller,” she said. “We are already on our third order of that ... we sold out in two days, so I guess Ephrata likes their fudge.”
Wittenborn said she plans to keep growing Moonbeam as much as possible in the coming years and keep the shop as a good place for people to come in and hang out. Through community support, she said the shop will also expand the types of products that they will have available.
“I mean, who knows, maybe do another location eventually,” said Wittenborn.
One of the main goals for Wittenborn in owning the shop is to pass it on to her daughters in the future.
“I wanted to be able to teach my girls how to run a business and start it from scratch,” she said. “That’s one of my new goals is that they’ll be able to take this and learn from it, gain job experience and do anything. I’d like to carry it through and have them continue.”
Wittenborn said she has appreciated all the support from the community so far and invites people to come in throughout the colder season for candies and stocking stuffers during the holidays. When spring comes around the shop will increase its hours and go full force in their operations.
Moonbeam Sweets & Treats
156 1st Ave NW
Ephrata, WA 98823
Wed-Sun, noon – 8 p.m.
541-350-0555
Moonbeamsweets.com
A row of different jars of candies at Moonbeam Sweets and Treats. Julie Wittenborn said the shop orders most of its candy from Annie B’s.
Along with candy and frozen yogurt, Moonbeam Sweets and Treats also sells toys and stuffed animals.
A medium-sized cup of the Dole Whip Pineapple flavor soft serve. Along with this dairy-free option, the shop also features classic frozen yogurt options such as vanilla and chocolate.
The display of fudge at Moonbeam Sweets and Treats. Julie Wittenborn said the fudge has been the most popular product and has sold out multiple times since the shop opened.
Moonbeam Sweets and Treats features a variety of goods including chocolate, popcorn, toys and frozen yogurt. The shop plans to add additional items in the future.
Moonbeam Sweets and Treats is located at 156 First Ave NE in Ephrata. Julie Wittenborn said she appreciates the ongoing support from the community.ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Erickson looks back on a busy and successful four-sport high school career
WARDEN — A four-sport athlete is not someone you often come across due to the time and dedication it takes for success in one sport, but for Amaya Erickson, tackling that challenge was something she was up for in her senior season. “My family’s always been really big into sports,” said Erickson. “Both my parents have played and my siblings both play, so I guess they’re all a really great inspiration for me.”
Tigers start summer 3-1 after split with Sunnyside Christian
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tiger Baseball Club (3-1) finished their second matchup of the season as they split a doubleheader with Sunnyside Christian Tuesday evening. “I was pleased with a lot of aspects of the doubleheader,” said Tigers Head Coach David Tempel. “The summertime is all about development and getting some experience. The good part about (Tuesday) is we were in some different situations that we haven’t seen much, so we were able to learn from those and use those to our advantage.” Sunnyside was the first on the board during game one as they put up two runs in the top of the second inning. The Tigers responded at the bottom of the third as they put up five runs to claim the lead.
Fletcher named new Eagles volleyball head coach
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles volleyball team will be under new leadership this fall as Erin Fletcher has been selected as the new head coach. She is following the successful tenure of the previous head coach, Nikki Noble, who helped guide the team to multiple state appearances over the years. “I’m so excited,” said Fletcher. “I’ve had the opportunity to watch these girls play the last couple years as a (referee). I’m really excited to be able to step in after Coach Noble and continue on that winning and competitive spirit that they’ve had for so long and kind of take it now to the next level.” Her love for athletics came from growing up in an athletic family of basketball players, but in second grade, she became the first in her family to start playing volleyball. From there, a passion for volleyball began to grow.