Back in December 2014, actors Paul Rudd and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, along with their wives Julie Rudd and Hilarie Burton, stepped in to help save a candy store in Rhinebeck, New York.
Samuel’s Sweet Shop was in danger of closing after the owner, Ira Gutner, passed away. The store had been a mainstay in Rhinebeck since 1994 so Rudd, Morgan, and their wives decided to step in to save the store from closing down forever.
Rudd and Morgan had been coming to Samuel’s for years and considered themselves loyal customers. Morgan said about the store, “When Hilarie & I came to the area & started getting coffee at Samuel’s, Ira made it clear that we were home. We just got each other…Saving Samuel’s is one of the coolest things we have done.”
Ira Gunter had previously worked in New York City’s Garment District before he decided to leave the city for Rhinebeck to open his own sweet shop. His unexpected passing in 2014 left his community saddened but his legacy will live on partly because Rudd and Morgan are helping to keep his legacy alive through his shop.
