What kind of Käksuker are you? or more appropriately, what kind of Käksuker is your friend? These two questions will undoubtedly be the catalyst for puerile jests and hilarious discussions around Richmond. Käksukers, for all those of you who are laughing and don’t understand exactly why, are large lollipops in the shape of a rooster.
Local bartenders Cole Bucholtz and Shaun Cannon work at Galley in Southside. On a late shooting-the-shit kind of night, Cole, after being relieved from his shift, started joking about about making a shirt depicting a cock (rooster) lollipop and wanting to call it a "cock sucker." After discussion with business-savvy in-laws at a family reunion, he decided to change the name from "cock sucker" to Käksuker. And thus Richmond's newest novelty candy was born.
Bucholz wishes to stress the difference between his product's play on words and that of other fake businesses that were popular t-shirt slogans in past years. "We were trying to make it casual, and not do another spin on…'Big Johnson's Surfboards' or 'Dirty Dick's Crab House'," said Bucholtz. "That fratboy humor, we tried to avoid that."
Instead, Käksukers have a variety of flavors that attempts to personalize the humorous insult you deliver to your friends, or even jokingly implicate yourself with. "Our hope is to have flavor that match what kind of Käksuker you are,” said Bucholz. “Like a jealous Käksuker would taste like sour grapes, a redneck Käksuker would taste like root beer barbecue sauce."
Käksukers are intended to be a novelty gift for friends, family, and even enemies. Giving a Käksuker to someone you dislike is a great way to show your true feelings. "It's kind of like, 'don't take yourself too seriously'," said Bucholtz. "I like to leave them of people's windshields who park crooked."
Since everybody can be a Käksuker from time to time, this is the perfect gift for anyone and everyone. Give your kid one when he is being unruly, or give your grandma one when she doesn’t send you a birthday present. “A little old lady went into Strawberry Street Market was like ‘I need ten Käksukers immediately,’ said Bucholtz. “Across the board, we are selling to everyone... It’s that last minute gift.”
Käksukers are presently on sale in stores around Richmond, including Strawberry Street Market, Sticky Rice Togogo, and World of Mirth. Käksukers are on display in the front of each store, and can also be purchased on their website: www.kaksukers.com