A sweet outcome for the Lolly Bug as Nelson Bay store opens and Hartley store to return

"My son Adam and his wife Marissa live in the area and I've got a lot of family over at Tea Gardens, we've spent a lot of time here so it just made sense," she said.

Marissa said her and Adam have lived in Nelson Bay for five years and said they had no intention of moving back to the Mountains.

"I've been in the family since I was 14 and I've always come on family holidays with them here as well, and Adam has wanted to have a lolly shop here for like 15 years, ever since the one in Hartley opened," she said.

It's been sweet and sour for the family-owned business after losing the Hartley store to a lightning strike in January.

Sharon said the site is currently undergoing excavation work and clearing but she was determined to get things back on track by the end of the year.

"The girls have been doing pop up shops, which has been doing really well and locals have been supporting us so much, it's terrific," she said.

"Our plans are just about to go into Council now and hopefully it will be up and running again by the end of the year," she said.

Sharon said due to the timing of the fire and launching the Nelson Bay store, she was undecided on going ahead after losing a lot of stock.

"In November last year we kind of made the decision we were going to do this [new store] and then the fire happened in January and we still hadn't signed the lease and it was like well, will we? Or won't we?

"And all the packing and everything for here was being done in Hartley but we got through it, we decided we'd go ahead and it has worked out well," she said.

The Nelson Bay Lolly Bug opened its doors on March 26 and Marissa and Sharon said it's been hard to keep up with the demand.

"We've had school holidays and the Easter period which has made it very busy, but it has been awesome," Marissa said.

"We've only been open three weeks and the response is overwhelming especially from the locals, that's obviously fantastic. We are looking forward to growing and evolving," she said.

"I'm splitting my focus between here and Hartley, but I came up on the first of March, I think I've been home for five or six days during that time and I've been in five or six different holiday houses," Sharon said.

Sharon and Marissa encouraged Lithgow residents holidaying in the area to come and check out the new store and keep an eye out for Lola number three on the road.