'The more unique, the better,' Snack Bar offers treats from around the world

Right across from Cambridge City Hall is a little snack shop that carries sweet treats from around the world. 

Kevin Nguyen, owner of Snack Bar at 65 Dickson St. has been a lover of snacks all his life, now he is looking to share his passion with the rest of the world. 

"I just love sweets and I've always been someone who likes to venture out and try new things," said Nguyen

Having started in his bedroom selling interesting snacks to his friends, he quickly saw there could be a market for a real business. 

Nguyen launched Snack Bar Co back in Feb 2023 and it took off, bringing his love for candy from a side gig to a full-time job. 

"I went to school for a science major at Ryerson University, but I realized that it just wasn't for me," said Nguyen. "But now I get to do something that I love and share it with people from all over the world." 

Snack Bar's online sales were doing so well, they had to move out of his bedroom and into a storefront. He was able to get a spot at his current location on Dickson Street and hasn't looked back since. 

The international foodie picks up treats from major Asian countries as well as South and Latin America. 

Nguyen admits he is limited in what he can bring into the country, due to strict Canadian food regulations. 

"Sometimes there are some things that I wish I could bring here, but Canada won't allow me to import them," said Nguyen. "Whether it's too much caffeine or sugar, it depends on how the border agent is feeling that day." 

Snack Bar gets everything from Skittles soda and Cinnamon Toast Crunch iced coffee to Dragon Ball Z ceral. "There is always something new and different we're bringing in," he said. 

Their main goal at the moment is to focus on e-commerce as they ship all across Canada and even around the world. 

Cambridge is still their home and Nguyen is grateful to be able to have a physical store that people can still come into. Over the last few months he has been open, he has garnered a loyal customer base that constantly comes in and tries new things. 

"We have people that come in regularly to try something that we either just get in or their favourites," he added. "We always try to test everything we can to make sure their is some sort of quality control." 

One issue the store has faced is with certain chocolates and the uncertainty of ordering internationally. While Nguyen does have an importer license and only buys from registered suppliers, there are some that he tries to avoid. 

"When it comes to the chocolate we have to be careful, because, with shipping, temperature changes and handling you are gambling sometimes. That's why we quality control everything." 

The Snack Bar is open on all the major ordering apps as well as online. 

"Anyone can drop in anytime to see what we have going on," said Nguyen.