SHELBURNE FALLS — After almost 18 years in business, Mo’s Fudge Factor on State Street is ready to make some changes.

The shop is undergoing renovations to open up the space and give it a fresh look, and will be expanding its menu to offer coffee and more baked goods. The renovation will bring the shop back to its pre-pandemic layout and expand the quirky feel, while also making it a bit darker and more Victorian.

“It was looking as tired as I was,” owner Michelle “Mo” Olanyk said jokingly. “The new feel will be steampunk meets Victorian meets funky.”

The store will be closed three days a week through the rest of the month while renovations continue and will fully reopen seven days a week in February, according to Olanyk. Patrons will still be able to pop in and pick up their sweet treats while watching the store’s progress.

Mo’s Fudge Factor opened in July 2007, and the shop has seen a few changes over the years, including a layout change in 2020 due to pandemic health safety guidelines. The ongoing renovation work brings the shop back to its pre-pandemic layout.

“Because of COVID, we had to change the whole layout,” Olanyk recounted. “We had made a center counter that we could work behind, and we had the Plexiglas around, and the way we had it set up allowed for the most amount of people in the store and the least amount of servers to serve them.”

Olanyk said the center counter allowed staff to keep serving customers amid health safety regulations, but it proved to be an inefficient set-up as the electrical and plumbing were built into the wall on the right side of the shop, so if workers needed to wash their hands or use an electrical outlet, they would have to leave the counter.

By Wednesday, the center counter had been removed and replaced with a counter along the right wall. Olanyk said the change will allow for more efficient serving while also giving patrons more space to wander the shop.

She added she has put in some Victorian sofas, called settees, and tables. Olanyk will also be adding more chairs and a counter with stools to give visitors a place to sit.

The candy tree will remain, and the shop will be adding more props such as top hats and tea cups to lean into the Victorian steampunk theme.

While Olanyk said Mo’s Fudge Factor has always had some clocks and some “Alice in Wonderland,” references, “we’re just gonna make them a little more funky. It’s a little more fun.”

The walls adorned with blue skies and clouds will stay as well, but will be brightened up, while the rest of the candy displays will be painted darker and deeper colors, including shades of plum, navy and brown.

“It’ll be a little less pastel and little more dark” Olanyk said.

In addition to the changes to the shop’s appearance, Mo’s Fudge Factor is planning some changes to the menu. Olanyk said the shop will be expanding the baked goods section of the store. The shop currently offers cookies, brownies and marshmallow rice cereal bars, but is planning to offer up more treats and has been experimenting with different bread recipes.

“We’ve always made everything here from scratch but we’ve stayed with just a few staples. Now we’re working to fill the case,” Olanyk explained. “It’ll be like a pop-up bakery each week.”

The shop also got an espresso machine and a coffee grinder to make lattes and other caffeinated beverages. Olanyk said most of the coffee shops in town close at 2 p.m. and there is a need for a late afternoon coffee spot.

Olanyk said the changes were inspired by feelings of frustration with the various challenges she and other businesses have faced in the past few years. Between pandemic restrictions and the more recent construction projects in Shelburne Falls, such as the Bridge of Flowers repairs and paving on Conway Street, business has been slow.

“We did not have a lot of fun with the Bridge of Flowers being closed and there was a ton of infrastructure projects. ... All good stuff, but inherently disruptive,” Olanyk noted. “I decided instead of crying about it I would blow the place up and start over.”

Though business has been an uphill battle since 2020, Olanyk said she hopes the new look will give her, her staff and customers the excitement to keep the business going for years to come.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.