LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - Atkinson Candy Company celebrated the grand opening of its newly remodeled "Candy Kitchen" storefront Thursday, transforming what was once a small candy counter into a full-scale retail destination."Everything you see in here is completely different, from the floor to the walls," said Chelsi Moree, marketing manager for Atkinson Candy Company.

"The size of the store is almost doubled. Our goal was to have it be a destination spot, an actual retail store, not only for Lufkin people, but also other people, too. We really wanted it to be the pride of Lufkin."Moree and Hannah Ray, executive assistant and assistant marketing manager, said they were brought on early in the renovation process by company leadership and helped plan the project from the ground up."It's so cool because we got to start out at the very beginning of this project and see it through," Moree said.

"It's really been like a passion project along the entire way. It's really rewarding seeing how everyone is like, 'Oh, it looks so good,'" Ray said.