It’s a long and winding road from Indiana and Purdue to selling Biscuit Egg Sandwiches at the Landrum Farmer’s Market.  But Bob List has traveled the road over his many careers and is enjoying life here in South Carolina. After graduating from Purdue in 1958 as an engineer, stops along the way include many years in Texas, some time on Wall Street, a stop in Durango, Colorado working with Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Then in 1993, on to the Virgin Islands setting up a chocolate and ice cream store, then relocating the shop to Key West, Florida. An opportunity back in Denver to purchase a small candy factory drew him back to Colorado. Hammond’s Candies was a family owned candy factory producing hand made Christmas candy. “When the family decided to sell out, I was contacted and, along with other investors, bought the company,” he explains. “We knew this type of candy making was becoming a lost art and there was a pent up demand for the old fashioned candy canes, ribbon candy, and chocolate straws. We became the major company to produce it all retaining the hand made traditions. We were often featured on “The Food Network” and even managed an episode on “Good Morning America”, he continues. “Martha Stewart used our candy on her holiday show and we made candy canes for Tiffany’s in their special Tiffany blue.”

After ten years it was time to sell and move on. But if you ever find yourself in Denver looking for something to do, be sure to stop at Hammond’s and take the tour.  Approximately 100,000 people visit the factory every year. His next business was located in Golden, Colorado at the foot of the Rockies. “We decided to scale down and open a small chocolate and ice cream shop, just a few blocks from Coors Brewery. The brewery attracts tourists to Golden and many of the visitors spilled into downtown Golden and became our customers. I also helped organize street festivals in Golden. Those nights would find a line out the door of our shop with customers craving ice cream treats,” he remembers.

“Five years went by quickly but age was creeping up and it was time to sell again.  Our children had all located on the East Coast so we decided to leave the Rocky Mountains and head East. My wife’s father had lived in Landrum so we were familiar with the town. We enjoy a small town lifestyle and we’re now at the foot of the Smokies,” he smiles and continues. “Golden had a thriving Farmer’s market with several vendors offering breakfast and lunch. Then I visited my sister in Madison, Indiana and discovered a vendor there making eggs, bacon, pancakes, and biscuits.  So I decided to try my hand at egg biscuit sandwiches here in Landrum. And now we’re adding cider doughnuts to the mix. It’s fun to be part of the market and visit with vendors and customers.”

So, when you start your life’s journey, you never know where the road might lead you.  From Purdue, on to Texas and Wall Street, to the tropics of the Caribbean, and Key West, the Colorado mountains, and the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Smokies, it’s all been an adventure for Bob List. Serving up breakfast at the Landrum market, is one more stop along the way.