When people come in to Treats specialty foods store in Wiscasset around Valentine's Day, they have a little different look about them, owner Stacy Linehan of Westport Island said.

“You can tell that everyone is looking for that something special. It's really a fun day to be here, because people have that spirit about them,” she said. “They'll come in and pick up comforting things, like tea and honey.”

And of course, there's the chocolate.

“So often chocolate is associated with love because it's an endorphin,” Linehan said. She knows her science. The Lake Tahoe, Nevada, native has a bachelor's degree in biology.

Valentine's Day helps give the business a boost between other busy times such as Christmas and Easter.

Though she's a registered Maine Guide and a former co-director of an outdoor program at Bowdoin College, Linehan comes from a family of bakers, as far back as her great-grandfather.

“So I've always loved really well-made food,” she said.

In addition to the Main Street business' own heart-shaped chocolate cakes with pink frosting, chocolate-covered strawberries and other Valentine's Day favorites made in-house, Treats sells tempting items like chocolate bark and dark chocolate caramels with sea salt, made by chocolatiers from Lubec to Massachusetts.

The caramels come from the well-known Black Dinah Chocolatiers, on Maine's Isle au Haut, a mailboat trip away from Stonington.

Linehan also uses as a lot of Maine-grown produce and ingredients, including blueberries and wheat flour. The store also has gluten-free goods.

Treats is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.The telephone number is 207-882-6192. The store is on Facebook and also has a website, at www.treatsofmaine.com.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.