From small, family-run spots that still trade on memory lane, to huge hangers filled with every sugary treat imaginable, America’s glittering array of candy stores provide unbridled joy to the sweet-of-tooth, as well as a true taste of nostalgia. Whether you’re looking for the finest place for brilliant bonbons or seeking out childhood favorites, read on for our guide to the best candy store in every state.
Our selections are based on genuine user reviews, awards and accolades, and the first-hand experience of our team. They're also regularly checked and updated.
What started out as a grocery store, in 1866, became a candy store in 1917, and this Alabama institution still trades today. Three Georges Candy was the sweet idea of – you guessed it – three Georges: Pappolamporous, Pope, and Spero, who shared a vision of offering their customers three things: candy, lunches, and a soda fountain. As a result, here jambalaya and muffulettas can be accompanied by customizable milkshakes and a wide selection of candy.
Seward’s first candy store was opened in 1908 by Hugh Darling’s grandmother, Emma Jean and is today run by Hugh and his wife Iris. Sweet Darlings sells everything from chocolate turtles, jar chocolates, and candies, to barks, kettle fudge, and even popcorn. It's the traditionally made gelato (inspired by Hugh’s travels to Italy) that really gets people talking though.
A 13,000-square-foot treasure trove, Sweeties Candy has been run by the same family for more than 60 years. While many stores embrace either nostalgia or modernity with their goods, Sweeties insists on doing both with the guarantee that, if a candy is still made today, they'll stock it. Sweeties doesn't take its trade lightly, fulfilling bulk orders by the pound and backing up their motto that: 'For a piece or a pound, or 1/2 ton, shop Sweeties Candy for a big bag of sweet fun. YUM!'
For over a century, Kopper Kettle Candies in Fort Smith has been a powerhouse of confection. Its forefather, chocolatier Martin L. Greer, learned his craft in Texarkana, Texas, and was so successful that Kopper Kettle Candies now has its own factory. With its red-and-white checkered floor and pared-back interior, this place dishes up a taste of the past, both in terms of the decor and handmade chocolates on offer (some of the recipes date all the way back to the 1800s).
Brandini Toffee has been given the seal of approval by both Martha Stewart and Oprah, which suggests it must be doing something right. Born out of a desire to help fund a school trip to Italy, Brandon Weimer and his friend opened Brandini in 2006, following an outpouring of community support. This toffee store prides itself on using premium ingredients and focusing on 'doing things the right way, not the easy way', and it certainly shows in the end result.
Fun fact: saltwater taffy was born out of necessity when, in 1883, the Atlantic Coast Candy store was flooded with seawater. Rather than admitting defeat and dismissing his stock as ruined, owner David Bradley started selling ‘saltwater taffy’. Of course, the salty confection caught on and there’s nowhere better to try it than The Taffy Shop in Estes Park, where they make the beloved confection according to a recipe from 1935.
From humble beginnings in 1946, Munson’s Chocolates now has eight locations across Connecticut. While initially they set out to find creative and delicious ways to use sugar rations, Munson’s now celebrates modern excess with its sprawling range of candy. High standards and a commitment to sustainability are prioritized here; the company is dedicated to ensuring the welfare of its cocoa farmers, as well as minimizing environmental impact and food waste (discounted sweet scraps are bagged up and sold as ‘Munson Mash-Ups’).
Snyder’s Candy in Rehoboth Beach has been around since 1940, when revelers flocked here to enjoy fountain drinks. They’ve moved locations a few times since them, but a devotion to stocking an impressive array of candy remains; you'll discover freeze-dried candy for the astronaut in you here, as well as a section filled with treats from Japan (including Japanese iterations of American candies).
Resembling a fun house retrofitted to sell candy, Sweet Pete’s in Jacksonville curates seasonal displays capable of giving Macy’s a run for its money. Amidst the gummies, lollies, customizable slabs of chocolate, and more, there’s also a restaurant serving fast food favorites (hot dogs, burgers, fries, and the like). Sweet Pete’s prides itself on offering 'traditional candy with a modern twist', and emphasizes the candy shop as an experience in itself, offering to host not just candy making classes, but full-on field trips.
Cream. Sugar. Butter. Pecans. Any one of those ingredients is delicious in its own right but, when combined, becomes something truly memorable. At Savannah's Candy Kitchen, a Georgia institution for around 50 years, co-owner Jennifer Strickland prides herself on providing a fun, family-friendly atmosphere, centered around pralines. You can not only watch the magic happen (and the candies being made), but be talked through the process by enthusiastic staff. Oh, and they also give away free samples.
It’s candy, but not as you necessarily know it. Crack seed is a popular Hawaiian snack that sees all kinds of fruit dried, salted, sugared, and simmered for a delicious – and unique – end result. Honolulu Crack Seed Store specializes in a range of crack seed candy using li hing mui or ‘traveling plum’, which is intensely sweet, sour, and salty. From chocolate rocks to pineapple belts, powdered ginger, and gummy bears, everything here is flavored by the hands of sisters Courtney Pham & Justine Mason, born here in Honolulu.
Goody's Soda Fountain & Candy Store was established in Oregon in 1984 by Marne and Marion Palmateer. Now located in Boise, and in its third generation of ownership, all the chocolate and ice cream at this cute retro spot is handmade, with new concoctions being churned out all the time. That said, you really can’t go wrong with a traditional sundae, served in a glass dish and topped with whipped cream, hot fudge, and that all-important cherry on top.
IT’SUGAR is on a mission to reinvent the perception of candy with its irreverent takes and humor. Selling candy for your parole officer, personal trainer, and even your dentist, and proudly highlighting that their products offer 'Absolutely no nutritional value!', IT’SUGAR is the devil on the shoulder of the health food industry. It seems that their marketing strategy is paying off; there are more than 100 stores across America. As you’d expect, this candy store giant sells every sugary treat imaginable, from old-fashioned favorites to entirely on-trend confections.
The Schimpff family of Schimpff's Confectionary in Jeffersonville have been producing candy since 1850 and continue to do so today, giving the term ‘blood sugar’ a whole new meaning. Current owners Warren and Jill have curated not so much a candy store as an actual time capsule; big glass jars containing a technicolor of treats jostle for space among vast display cabinets filled with chocolates. Schimpffs is so important in the confectionery world that it featured on The History Channel’s Modern Marvels in 2005.
For around 150 years and across five generations, Palmer Candy in Sioux City has been making candy. Fittingly, nostalgic treats are the focus here; customers can scoop up the likes of peppermint creams, chocolate-covered peanuts, and Swedish Fish, before exploring the small on-site museum with its retired candy-making equipment and vintage photographs. The gifting options are great, too – think gourmet truffles and beautifully wrapped nougat.
Family owned since 1937, Wichita’s Nifty Nut House is indeed crazy about candy. Home to a vast array of sugary confections, specialties include Nifty Mixes (sweet and savory riffs on trail mix), gourmet-flavored nuts available by the pound, packets of gummies, and a selection of dried fruit (much of it encased in chocolate).
Marshmallows dipped in caramel? It must be a modjeska. The sweets were invented by Anton Busath here in Louisville over a century ago, and Muth’s Candies – established in 1921 – continues to hand-dip its modjeskas using a caramel recipe personally handed to them by the Busath family. Customer favorites also include the addictive peanut brittle, chocolate-covered Graham crackers, and toffee apples rolled in chopped pecans (a seasonal treat best enjoyed in October).
Loretta Harrison of Loretta's Authentic Pralines was the first African-American woman to own and operate a praline business in New Orleans. She did so for 35 years, until she passed away in 2022, and in that time won both The People's Choice and Judge’s Award at The Beignet Festival in City Park. Celebrated as a philanthropist within the New Orleans community, her motto was simply: 'As the generations continue to change, the praline business stays the same'. Today, customers travel from far and wide to sample pralines prepared according to her original recipes.
Yummies Candy & Nuts claims you've never seen a store like this – and, with 10,000lbs of the sweet stuff on display, they may well be right. Packed floor-to-ceiling with sweet treats, Yummies has silos of jelly beans, a corner devoted to nostalgic goodies known as ‘memory lane’, and troughs of homemade fudge, as well as hard candy, chocolate bars, and stacks of roasted cashews. Something of a Maine institution, it even sells its own line of merch.
The Itsy Bitsy Candy Store is a diminutive, totally charming cottage that houses a deceptive volume of candy. Here the walls are lined with handmade chocolates, hard candy, caramels, and sweet pretzels in all flavors, as well as mints, edible bark, and some more unusual items, such as CBD-infused chocolates. The same company also operates a chocolate therapy suite nearby.
Billed as ‘America’s oldest candy company’, Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie has been around since 1806 and is most famous for its Gibralters and Black Jacks. That said, you’ll find a tempting assortment of other vintage candies here: lemon drops, sour worms, fruit slices, and horehound slugs included.
Michigan's largest candy retail store, Doc Sweets’ Candy Company puts nostalgia at its core, specializing in hard-to-find candies from days gone by. Their slogan is 'It’s like being a kid again, only sweeter!', and fittingly the company is known for its birthday gifting options, particularly its Decade Boxes, which come filled to the brim with the candy popular in the decade of your choice.
Established in 1932 as a small business selling popcorn and fudge under the name ‘Flavo Korn’, by 1950 this company had developed a whole line of candies and, rather aptly, changed its title to Candyland. While most famous for its Chicago Mix popcorn (a blend of caramel and Cheddar cheese flavors), Candyland also make fantastic hand-dipped chocolates and classic candies such as jellies, barks, and brittles. The original shop in St. Paul is beloved by locals and visitors alike.
Despite being renowned the state over for its Pecan Logs (prepared using the finest of ingredients and according to an original 1930s recipe), The Candy Cottage sells plenty of other classic candy, too. Handmade chocolate turtles are the stuff of local legend, they do a good line in kid-friendly treats (think rock candy sticks in a rainbow of colors) and the chocolate-covered potato chips sold here are a must-try.
A small candy store with a big personality, Missouri’s award-winning How Sweet Is This has something for everyone. As well as stocking a wide variety of gummies, gourmet chocolate, and nostalgic treats, this place offers up a sweet selection of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, and kosher candy, too. Come the summer months it’s the shaved ices, made with raw cane sugar and available in more than 30 different flavors, that everyone raves about though.
The largest candy store and soda shop in Montanta goes big when it comes to variety, stocking over a thousand different items. Included in that selection are 14 flavors of homemade fudge, gourmet caramel apples, pecan turtles, sour gummies, and Slo Poke suckers, as well as more modern offerings. Candy Town's ‘Great Wall of Gummies’ (pictured) is a sugar-lovers dream, while the retro soda fountain just adds to the appeal.
Boasting a pinball arcade, 1950s-style diner, record emporium, and theater, as well as movie memorabilia and curios, Nebraska’s Hollywood Candy is no ordinary candy shop and the items of sale reflect that. Browse the aisles and you’ll find imported candy from Asia, Europe, and Australia, handmade fudge, and the largest selection of Jelly Belly flavors in Nebraska.
The promise of gold once took prospectors to remote, far-flung parts of America. Today, it’s candy. Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory in Nevada is hard to miss, thanks to the huge sign and statue of a prospector scouring the horizon. Although it opened in 1983, The Chocolate Nugget is run by third-generation candy makers who have been boxing up handcrafted selections since 1936. Be sure to try the coveted peanut brittle, which has been made the same way for more than 80 years.
Testament to their massive selection, Chutters in Littleton is recognized by the Guinness World Records as having the world's largest continuous candy counter. Spanning more than 110 feet – pretty much the entire length of the store – the counter features jar after jar of different types of candy (around 500 in total). You'll also spot gleaming cabinets filled with homemade chocolates, fudge, truffles, and more.
Named as one of the top 50 candy stores in the US by Food Network Magazine, Black River Candy Shoppe has a reputation as mighty as its trove of candies. While the vibe inside is very much evocative of a vintage candy store, the treats on offer span the years in delicious style, with plenty of modern confections. The selection of English ‘sweets’ is particularly noteworthy.
New Mexico's Kakawa Chocolate House is one for the purists. While you won't find any gummy bears or taffy here, you will discover the very finest artisanal chocolate. One-of-a-kind creations (caramels, truffles, and solid chocolate bars) are crafted by hand, using premium ingredients. Kakawa’s signature goats’ cheese and sage truffle is not to be missed, and visitors should also take the opportunity to stock up on the famous drinking chocolate elixirs.
Economy Candy boasts such a range of goodies that you’re able to peruse their selection by decade, color and occasion. This place goes big on modern, trendy confections and items that kids will adore (think Twix Popcorn and Froot Loop Cereal Straws), as well as offering an impressive range of imported goodies and vegetarian, vegan, and kosher candies.
Another temple to nostalgia, The Candy Factory in Lexington houses candy by the bucketload. Opened in 1978, second-generation candy maker Robert Ebelein began by selling pure stick candy and mint puffs, as well as fudge and peanut brittle. The Candy Factory is now owned by Wynn and Annette Conrad, but the store’s aesthetic remains untouched, offering a clear nod to yesteryear. Its Red Bird Puffs and Red Bird Sticks are still among the most popular items on sale.
The Widman family name has been synonymous with candy since 1885. Today they continue to satisfy the sweet-toothed, with Carol Widman's Candy Co. locations in Fargo, Grand Forks, and Crookston Minnesota. Widman’s is famous for its Chippers (potato chips coated in chocolate) available in milk, dark, and white almond flavors, but also sells more eccentric offerings, such as the sweet-salty sensation that is chocolate bacon.
Sweetie's Candy in Ohio specializes in nostalgic treats and is hugely popular (it racked up some 500,000 visitors in 2022, making it one of the most-visited locations in the state). If you’re a candy fiend, it’s easy to see why: the company (which markets itself as the largest candy store in the world), sources around 5,500 different items from 190 suppliers, meaning you’ll never be short of choice.
Renowned for its whimsically decorated stores and ornate interiors, as well as its beautifully presented cupcakes, macarons, truffles, and candy, a visit to one of Pinkitzel's four stores is a treat for both the eyes and taste buds. For those who just can’t get enough of the sweet stuff, the candy bar catering service the company offers is a great shout for a sugar-fueled special occasion.
Husband and wife Bruce and Treva Haskell opened Bruce's Candy Kitchen in 1963, and it remains in the family today. Beyond the pink-and-white striped storefront, all kinds of handmade treats await (visit at the right moment and you’ll be able to sample them while still warm). Other specialties include Cannon Beach Peanut Butter Brittle and award-winning Love Bugs.
This Pittsburgh-born candy shop sells hundreds of different types of candy bars and candies, but what really sets it apart is a passion for ensuring each and every customer’s sweet needs are met. The staff at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop are experts on the subject of all things candy and are more than happy to offer recommendations. The World Famous $5 Candy Buffet here is not to be missed: as long as the lid on the box provided fits, you can cram it full with as many different treats as you like.
As the name suggest, at Candy4Pennies you can purchase your candy by the piece, rather than the pound (this is one of the only places in the state you can do so). Priding itself on offering visitors not just great value for money but an unforgettable experience, too, the walls here are lined with buckets teaming with colorful candy, as well as an impressive selection of chocolate and carefully curated gift boxes. Customers love the nostalgic throwbacks and child-friendly atmosphere.
The birthplace of the famous crispy, crunchy, peanut buttery Butterfinger, South Carolina is a state with a sweet tooth. So a colorful cornucopia of confectionary like Sugar Kingdom is right at home here. The locally owned, family-run store sells more than 2,500 different kinds of candy, truly living up to the name and delivering on a promise to make customers feel like 'a kid in a candy store'.
Candyland SD stocks everything from blast-from-the-past candies to pickles covered in chocolate (yes, really), as well as 15 flavors of handmade ice cream and around 50 types of soda. The hot chocolate sold here is also very good, and the Sweet Greens Mini Golf Course (located on the same site) is well worth checking out.
Some of the best candy stores in the US have a time capsule feel about them and Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen is no exception. A family business established back in 1950 by Dave and Peggy Dych, all the goodies on sale here are prepared by hand, the traditional way. Even better, visitors can witness the production process before tucking in.
Everything is bigger in Texas, so the saying goes, and this candy shop in Austin supports that claim, with around 3,000 wrapped candies on its inventory. Not one for modesty, the Big Top Candy Shop proudly refers to itself as 'The Most Amazing Candy Store The World Has Ever Known'. Whether that’s absolutely true or not, it’s considered by many to be the very best in Texas, thanks in no small part to its soda fountain, excellent ice cream sundaes, floats, and milkshakes, as well as delicious fine chocolates.
Hatch Family Chocolates emphasizes quality over quantity and boy, does that mantra serve them well. From truffles to salted caramel pretzel sticks, not forgetting Oreos enrobed in chocolate, the hand-dipped treats sold here are nothing short of exquisite. Not feeling chocolatey? There are cakes, pies, and ice cream, too.
On the site of what used to be a struggling scrapbook store sits the thriving Middlebury Sweets Candy Shop. Vermont’s largest candy store sells more than 1,500 different varieties of candy, including penny candy, 72 types of Jelly Belly Beans, and the world's largest gummy bear, weighing in at 27 pounds. Should you wish to linger here for longer, there’s even a motel on site.
Loved by locals, the walls of The Candy Store in Roanoke are lined with classic glass jars containing all sorts of hard candies and gummies. If you’re more of a chocolate fiend, the sizable assortment of handmade chocolates will more than satisfy cravings, while the fine selection of soda is the perfect accompaniment. For those that prefer imported candy, The Candy Store also carries a range of European favorites, too.
Theo Chocolate in Seattle is quite rightly no stranger to awards and accolades. Founded in 2005, the company was the first organic, fair trade certified chocolate shop in North America. The products in stock also happen to be sensational; the salted cashew 85% dark chocolate bar is talked about in revered tones by chocolate experts, and the Peppermint Polly is a must-try for fans of mint chocolate. A Theo Chocolate Virtual Chocolate Tasting Class would meanwhile make a wonderful gift.
Sure, there are some candy stores that divide their offerings by decade, but True Treats Historic Candy takes things one step further and goes by century, creating treats inspired by the various nuts and spices that arrived in the West from the 1500s to the 1900s. Amongst their various offerings, you’ll find the likes of the Biblical Sample Box, Abolitionist Sugar Sampler, and Colonial Grog Kit.
With an aesthetic that resembles a charming old-school diner, Goody Goody Gum Drop Candy Kitchen embodies that winning combination of nostalgia and choice, with truffles, caramels, gummies, hard candy, rock candy, lollipops, popcorn, and more. It’s the largest candy store in Wisconsin with more than 1,000 varieties of candy and is a huge hit with the locals. Those in the know recommend planning ahead and ordering your Christmas candy from here.
Donells Candies has been spoiling Wyoming with their sweet treats since 1956. Championing quality, sustainability, and freshness, Donnell’s small batch candy is made on-site by three generations of candy makers, ensuring consistency every time. Along with seasonal specials and brilliant customer service, Donnells continues to use the same recipes responsible for its initial success all those years ago and long may they continue to do so.