Hometown: Portland, though he’s divided his life between the Northwest and Lewiston, Idaho.

His job entails: Tannahill is Tom and Larry Candies’ resident candy cooker. He also runs the shop’s register, doles out samples, and helps customers make heads and tails of the store’s considerable array of fudges, taffys, toffees and assorted other sweets things.

How he ended up at Tom and Larry’s: Four years back, Tannahill, his girlfriend and their three kids moved to Seaside from Lewiston to be closer to his girlfriend’s mother, and his own mother soon followed suit. Doing drywall had long been Tannahill’s trade, but the economic downturn forced him to seek out a new occupation here on the North Coast. His girlfriend was working at Tom and Larry’s Seaside store, and Tannahill decided to give the candy business a shot. He was soon promoted to candy maker, and he found that a few of the skills he’d picked up from drywalling translated well to his new work. For example, Tannahill says, the process of preparing plaster has much in common with the process of making fudge, such as the way the mix must be carefully spread out and left to set. The rest of what he was learning was entirely new.

His daily duties: During the wintertime, when the shop is quieter, Tannahill divides his days between cooking candy and helping customers. In the summer, visitors pour in and a few additional employees show up to hold down the fort so he can focus on candy-making all day long.

The Tom and Larry method: Tom and Larry Candies follows secret recipes from the 30s, made the old fashioned way – that means no preservatives and traditional methods. The old-school approach has earned the shop a devoted following, Tannahill says.

The best part of his job: Aside from the obvious perks? Tannahill interacts daily with vacationers, and he finds that almost all of them come to the store in good spirits, eager for a little jovial conversation.

“It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you’re around people enjoying their day so much,” he said. “And I love watching kids come in and get so excited and happy,” he said.

His own children are stoked on his new occupation, although they do have one running qualm: “The kids think it’s pretty cool, but they also think I should be bringing candy home with me every day,” he said.

The most difficult part of his job: The shop can get pretty crazy in the summer months, which makes it hard for Tannahill to find the time to get out and enjoy the sunshine with his girlfriend and kids.

Candy is also more sensitive to the weather than many people realize, especially penoche fudge, a chocolate-free variety made from brown sugar and cream. This truth necessitates an artful hand and close attention to detail.

“It can be tough to get it consistent when temperatures change, and consistency is really important to us,” Tannahill said.

His approach to customer service: Before coming to Tom and Larry Candies, Tannahill hadn’t had much experience working with the public. But he’s found he has a knack for it, and he swears besides that sweets are an easy sell, especially when you have a secret weapon: free tastes for all who enter. Rare is the customer who tries a bit of Tom and Larry fudge and walks back out without a bag in hand.

“If I can get people to sample it, I can be pretty sure they’ll buy it,” he said.

Common candy questions: Many customers are showing up these days with nut and dairy allergies, Tannahill says, but as the resident candy cooker, he’s well positioned to answer any questions about what goes into the confections. People are often also curious if the treats are made on site. (They are, save for the packaged candies, and the taffy, which comes from Phillips Candy Kitchen in Seaside.)

Most popular treats: The toffee and the fudges are consistently popular, although preferences change in fits and starts, Tannahill says. (He himself is partial to the toffee.) And when business slows, Tannahill needs only whip up a fresh batch of caramel corn; the smell of the cooking confection wafts out into Sandpiper Square and beyond and it’s never long before scads of salivating patrons come knocking.

“It the winds are right, we get it going all the way out into the street and people just sniff their way back,” he said.

Why the world needs candy: It’s a way for grown ups to reconnect with the carefree indulgences of their younger years, Tannahill believes. Customers often break into giggles as they taste the samples and make their purchases.

“Adults get more excited than the kids do,” Tannahill said. “It’s an addiction from childhood!”

What makes working in Cannon Beach great: People are here to slow down and savor and not just make a quick purchase, according to Tannahill. “It’s more mellow here, a totally different crowd,” he said. “People are quietly enjoying their vacation rather than being in a rush, and everybody’s pretty polite.”

Take a taste test: Tom and Larry Candies, located on the bottom floor of Sandpiper Square, at 171 N. Larch, samples its products daily. For more information or to see the full menu, go online to www.tomnlarrycandies.com; or call (503) 436-0526.