Get to Know Cork & Candles' David Straub
What led you to start Cork & Candles?
So when I was 12 years old, I made candles in my basement with my father. That was really my first jump into going into business. I made three different candles a Christmas tree candle, a taper candle, and an icebox candle. I went door to door, knocking on doors, taking orders, and then went back to my basement, and made candles with my dad. My father died when I was 23 years old, and I have this really fond memory of doing something with my father. And then fast forward 50 years and Kenny, my son, comes to me and he has this idea that he'd like to do something like this. He got the idea by visiting something very similar. The more I thought about it, I thought it would be such an exciting thing to do with my son, but also a flashback to go back and visit making candles like I did with my dad.
How has the business evolved over the years?
The business evolved really away from the focus on how to make a great candle. But really, our focus is on creating a place where people want to come and do something together. So our tagline is ‘Where Friends Gather.’ And so I get an extreme amount of joy just watching six people come in here, eight people come in here, sometimes 30 people come in here, and they're just laughing and giggling. For me, the candle is really just a metaphor for people having a fun time together.
What sets Cork & Candles apart from competition?
Three things - one is our atmosphere. If the camera could look around here, people walk in here and they go, “this is just a nice place. It smells great in here.” So the esthetics are nice. People just want to be here. We hear that a lot. The second is all the science that we've put behind making a great candle. So there are elements. How hot is the temperature of poured wax? What's the size of the wick? What's the size of the vessel? And the type of the wax? You have to get all of those elements right together for there to be a great candle made. So we’ve scienced that so that people are going to make great candles. And then the other thing is we have candle making classes where every month, we have a different candle of the month. Last month it was the banana split. And so they're the three things. It is the esthetics. People are going to make a great candle. And then we have these candle making classes.
What is your favorite thing about University City and Philadelphia?
Every day I see thousands of students walk by. And the University said to us, we want you on campus because there's just not enough activities for students to go out and do. And so we thought it was a perfect marriage to bring a business to a safe part of Philadelphia, but also an experience business so that the students have something else to do.
Philadelphia is brotherly love. It's one of the largest cities in the United States. We have a second store at 1315 Walnut Street, and that is going extremely well. And so Philadelphia has been very good to us.
Do you have a key mentor or someone who has deeply influenced you?
There's two. I used to have breakfast once a month with Ed Herr of Herrs Potato Chips, Ed is now the CEO president of Herrs Potato Chips. He is really a spiritual leader for me. And then I had breakfast once a month with Jonas Beiler. Jonas Beiler was married or is married to “Auntie Anne” of Auntie Anne’s pretzels. They were two business leaders that mentored me. Jonas Beiler gave me some advice for when you feel stressed about making a decision. He said, “when you're on a road, you don't have to make a decision until you get to the fork. So just keep gathering information that will help you make a better decision for when you get to that fork, rather than you're in the middle of the road and you're so stressed out you can't move any further down that road.” And I find that so many people hesitate moving forward on a dream because they think about all the things that can go wrong, and they're not even at a fork in the road to be able to make a decision.
Where would you like to travel to next?
I just got back from Alaska this morning, and next on the list is New Zealand.
Who is one of your favorite music artists?
Bruce Springsteen. My wife and I just went to his concert here in Philadelphia.
What is a Shop Penn business you frequent other than your own?
Franklin's Table. I just had lunch there.