OXFORD – The commerce along Route 26 just got a little sweeter.

John and Paula Moxcey of Oxford are opening Moxcey’s Candy Shoppe in the Oxford Plaza today. The store is next to Subway restaurant.

Paula said she used to make candy as a hobby, and John would help in the process. She suggested he open the shop after he started looking for a full-time job. The initial plan was to make candy at their home and sell it to stores, but they decided against that.

“We thought, ‘we’ll outgrow that,'” John said.

The couple will offer homemade and manufactured goods. They listed filled chocolates, truffles, chocolate-covered cherries, brittles, peanut butter cups, fudge, molded candies, and mint patties among their specialties.

“I’m hoping to keep on growing our variety,” John said.

“We’d like to bring back the old candy store style,” his wife added.

Both will be working at the shop, though it will be a full-time job for John. Paula works for the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The store will be offering gift baskets as well as a similar offering of a festively wrapped chocolate bowl filled with candy. The couple hope to sell greeting cards and reusable gift cards eventually, as well as sugar-free candy and themed confections.

“Most holidays we’ll be doing themes,” Paula said. “Halloween we’re hoping will be a big one.”

The opening culminates a process that took about three months.

“Everything went pretty smoothly,” she said. They contacted the state for a license, and secured the suite in the plaza.

“This was an empty space,” John said. “It was almost like one big room.”

He said the suite was in good condition, but still required extensive work. New flooring was installed, the dark blue walls were painted a lighter tone and new kitchen plumbing installed.

John and Paula are no strangers to business. They opened up a storage company in Norway, which they sold in 2005. Paula also works as an independent beauty consultant and saleswoman.

Among their plans are a Web site and a grand opening.

“We want to grow into it,” John said of expanding.

The store’s phone number is 739-2882.