15 Oldest Candy Shops In The US

Candy shops have been around in America for centuries, selling everything from homemade hard candies to taffy and pralines. They used to be fixtures in small towns and big cities alike, but that all started to change with the proliferation of convenience stores and gas stations offering mainstream treats like popular chocolate bars and brand-name chewing gum. While the old-school shops with their glass display cases and jars filled with colorful candies may be fewer and farther between these days, that's not to say they're completely gone.

Across the country, there are several old-school candy shops that have hung on and are still going strong. Many remain family-owned and create confections such as chocolates, caramels, and brittle by hand, using recipes passed down for generations. Some even look much like they did decades ago, with vintage counters and old-timey decor. These are 15 of the oldest candy shops in the U.S., all more than 100 years old, where you can get a taste of history as you satisfy your sweet tooth.

The candy industry in the United States wouldn't be what it is today without Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie. Its story began in 1806, when Mary Thomas and her family arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, after losing everything in a shipwreck. Kind neighbors offered to help the family out and gave Thomas a barrel of sugar so that she could make and sell candies, which she called Gibraltars. Those hard candies were the first commercial candies sold in America, and they helped establish a company that's still thriving over 200 years later.

Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie still sells Gibraltars today, using the same recipe that Thomas developed two centuries ago. Its other flagship candy is the Black Jack, a stick candy developed by John Pepper, who bought the company from the Thomas family. Visit either of the company's two locations in Salem or North Andover, and you'll also find an array of sweets like gummies, chocolates, saltwater taffies, and barks, some of which are made using equipment dating back to the 1800s.

https://www.oldepeppercandy.com/

Multiple locations

Founded by G.F. Wittich in 1840, Wittich's Candy Shop is the oldest candy store in the United States continuously run by the same family. Step inside, and you instantly get a sense of the history of the space with its vintage soda fountain, handmade goodies in display cases, and colorful candies in old-fashioned glass jars. You can grab a stool at the soda fountain and have a milkshake or sundae before stocking up on other sweet treats.

Wittich's is famous for its Buckeye candies, which are popular Midwestern desserts featuring peanut butter encased in chocolate. While many Buckeye makers leave part of the peanut butter exposed to give it the "eyeball" look that earned the candy its name, Wittich's coats all of the peanut butter center in chocolate to keep it fresher. Other house-made items include peanut stacks, peppermint patties, and nut brittles. The shop also sells commercial candies like hard candies and jelly beans, as well as candy-making supplies like sucker sticks and candy molds.

https://wittichscandyshop.com/

(740) 474-3313

117 W High St, Circleville, OH 43113

Candy making was a big industry in Philadelphia during the 19th century, thanks to the abundance of ingredients that poured in through its port, like cocoa, fruits, and sugarcane. Shane Confectionery is the oldest continuously-operated candy shop from that time, having been established in 1863. Many of the shop's features from its early days have been faithfully restored, including the stained glass windows, marble countertops, and carved cabinets. There have also been new additions in recent years, like the Shane Chocolate Cafe and Franklin Ice Cream Bar.

While this 150-year-plus candy shop is undeniably old-school, it's progressive about how it makes its candy. The cacao and sugar are ethically sourced from providers who are transparent about wages and mindful about sustainability. In addition, many ingredients are locally sourced, like the butter, eggs, and maple syrup. That gives you one more reason to feel good about grabbing a bag or three of Shane Confectionery's sweets, which include chocolates, caramels, malt balls, sour gummies, and pralines.

https://shanecandies.com/

(215) 922-1048

110 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Claus Doscher founded what would become Doscher's Candy Co. in 1871 with one signature sweet: candy canes. He used copper kettles to cook the candy base, then shaped the candy canes by hand and gave them their stripes. Those candy canes would go on to become the backbone of the company. He also created French Chew, a brand of chewy taffy candies that Doscher's produced until 2025, when it sold the line. 

Doscher's has relocated a few times over the years, and now operates out of a historic farmhouse that also houses a coffee shop and gift store. You can visit the brick-and-mortar location or shop online to peruse the company's famous candy canes, which are made the same way they were years ago. You can get them in classic peppermint, as well as flavors like orange, grape, and green apple. Doscher's also sells candy buttons, handcrafted hard candy pillows, and a variety of gummies, chocolates, and caramels.

https://doscherscandies.com/

(513) 381-8656

6926 Main St, Cincinnati, OH 45244

For over 140 years, Orne's Candy Store has been an institution in Boothbay, Maine. Addie Orne opened the shop on the Fourth of July in 1885, offering sweet treats such as candy, ice cream, and fruit. Although the selection has grown over the years to include items like chocolates and fudge, not much else has changed, from the glass storefront to the glass display cases, and black and white photos on the walls.

Most of the sweets on offer at Orne's Candy Store are made in Maine, and they can be purchased individually or in quarter-pound, half-pound, or one-pound boxes. Some of the best sellers are the fudges, which come in flavors like chocolate walnut and penuche caramel sea salt. The chocolates come in equally enticing flavors like almond butter crunch, mint julep, and orange peel. You can also grab fun candies like gummy lobsters, saltwater taffy, and rock candy on a stick or a piece of string.

https://www.ornescandystore.com/

(207) 633-2695

11 Commercial St, 2nd floor, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538

Schimpff's Confectionery has been selling sugary treats from its Jeffersonville, Indiana, location since 1891. The business has survived many challenges over the years, including a devastating flood in 1937, but it has not only survived but also thrived and remained within the same family. Visit today, and you'll find a soda fountain with its original 1950s tin roof, a museum featuring tons of candy memorabilia, and candies made the same way they have for decades, using antique machinery.

There are several specialties at Schimpff's that have kept people coming back for generations, including the signature Cinnamon Red Hots, made with a recipe dating back to the 1880s. If caramel is more your style, the Modjeskas (caramel-covered marshmallows) are a local favorite, as are the hard fish candy. You can also pick up chocolates, old-fashioned sour lemon drops, and English toffee (not to be confused with American toffee). The soda fountain also serves lunch daily.

https://schimpffs.com/

(812) 283-8367

347 Spring St, Jeffersonville, IN 47130

Established by James Vera in 1904, Dunmore Candy Kitchen is still slinging chocolates over 120 years later from the same location in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and from a second location in Scranton. It's only changed hands a few times over the years, and each set of owners has stayed true to the shop's commitment to making quality chocolates for all sorts of occasions. The shops also sell items like fudge, gummies, candies, and nuts.

What really makes Dunmore Candy Kitchen stand out (apart from its lengthy history) is the wide variety of molded chocolates on offer. You can get chocolates shaped like alligators, dump trucks, beer mugs, and pop-culture characters like Baby Yoda and the Cookie Monster. In addition, there is a great selection of dipped items, such as chocolate-covered pretzels, potato chips, and Swedish Fish. And if you want something extra-special, the company can make chocolate bars with custom wrappers printed in your preferred colors and with special messages, logos, and images.

https://dunmorecandykitchen.com/

Multiple locations

In 1904, Josh Early III started selling candy wholesale, sparking a family passion for sweets that endures five generations later. Early's son would go on to open a candy shop and expand the business by making his own butter cream chocolates, and his son followed suit decades later. Today, the family runs the flagship shop out of Allenstown, Pennsylvania, and has a second location in Bethlehem. Both sell a wide range of house-made chocolates and candies, many of which use recipes the Early family developed in the early 20th century.

Many of the fan-favorite items at Josh Early Candies feature chocolate, like the vanilla buttercream chocolates, cashew patties, and peanut butter cups. The company also offers non-chocolate items like toffees, caramels, vanilla nut fudge, and classic peanut brittle. And if you want to throw some color into the mix, there are plenty of jellybeans on offer, as well as gummies like watermelon rings, tropical gummy bears, and sour gummy worms.

https://joshearlycandies.com/

Multiple locations

Minnesota's oldest candy shop is Canelake's Candies, a joint venture between brothers Nick, Tom, Christ, and Gust Canelake, who first opened its doors in Virginia, Minnesota, in 1905. It's been in its current location since 1917, and it features an old-fashioned soda fountain, gift shop, and row upon row of confections in glass display cases. Most of the chocolates and candies on offer are made using recipes passed down through the generations and old-fashioned methods, such as cooking in copper kettles.

One of the most popular treats at Canelake's Candies is the Hot Air, an airy sponge candy coated in chocolate. The family also makes items like chocolate turtle bars with caramel and pecans, caramel apples, and candy bark. Old school hard candies are also on offer, like raspberry drops and root beer fish, as well as chewy candies like herbaceous black licorice. And if you need something to wash all that candy down, you can grab a phosphate at the soda fountain.

https://www.canelakescandies.com/

(218) 741-1557

414 Chestnut St, Virginia, MN 55792

The Wilton Candy Kitchen has been around almost as long as its hometown of Wilton, Indiana. The town was founded in 1855, and in 1860, Robert A. McIntyre opened a confectionery there. In the decades that followed, the business would grow to include a restaurant, ice cream parlor, and soda fountain. You'll still find plenty of relics from the past there today, including the wooden booths, stamped tin ceiling, and marble counters. And it still carries on the tradition of making candies and chocolates in-house.

The soda fountain is the main draw at Wilton Candy Kitchen, serving classic dishes and drinks such as ice cream sundaes, milkshakes, and malts. You can also get phosphates in flavors like banana, cherry, watermelon, and vanilla. Hot dishes include grilled cheese sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, and peanut butter toast. Before leaving, you can stock up on sweets like house-made double-dipped peanuts and chocolate-covered raisins, as well as brand-name candies like Charleston Chews and Twix bars.

https://www.wiltoncandykitchen.com/

(563) 732-2278

310 Cedar St, Wilton, IA 52778

Many foodies visit New Orleans with a game plan to seek out the best muffulettas, po' boys, or gumbo, but if it's sweet treats you're after, Laura's Candies is a must. This historic spot has been selling confections since 1913, making it the oldest candy shop in the city. It offers a great selection of candies, including chocolates, pralines, truffles, and old-fashioned fruit jelly slices. You can also pick up pantry items like Laura's Louisiana hot sauce, Cajun cayenne pickles, and Creole seasoning.

Laura's is famous for its pralines, which are made in-house since the shop opened its doors. It still uses the same recipe today, cooking butter, cream, vanilla, and Louisiana pecans in copper kettle pots and cooling the concoction on marble counters. The Mississippi Mud (a candy bark) is another top seller for its layers of chocolate, caramel, and pecans. People also love the Louisiana Tortoises, which feature pecans coated in caramel and chocolate, and the variety of fudges in flavors like peanut butter and cookies and cream.

https://www.laurascandies.com/

Multiple locations

From the minute you step into Crown Candy in St Louis, Missouri, you can tell that the candy shop and soda fountain are from another era. Wooden booths line the walls, the ceiling is stamped with star-shaped patterns, and a long soda fountain sits at the back, beckoning with its gleaming taps. Founders Harry Karandzieff and Pete Jugaloff opened it as a confectionery in 1913, and it later evolved to sell malts, phosphates, and ice cream, making it one of the oldest soda fountains in the U.S.

Many people come to Crown Candy for the soda fountain experience, where you can order old-timey drinks like butterscotch malts and shakes featuring house-made ice cream in flavors such as pineapple-orange and Ozark black walnut. The menu also features sandwiches such as the roast beef cheddar melt and the Reuben, as well as salads and tamales. But the spot also stays true to its roots, selling house-made chocolates like nonpareils, cashew clusters, and chocolate-covered cherry cordials.

https://crowncandykitchen.net/

(314) 621-9650

1401 St Louis Ave, St. Louis, MO 63106

For over 100 years, Three Georges has been satisfying sweet cravings in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded by three Greek friends, George Pope, George Spero, and George Pappolamporous, in 1917. Legend has it that each George wanted to operate a different kind of business, so they combined all three ventures into a candy shop, soda fountain, and sandwich spot. Today, you can still grab a roast beef sandwich and a milkshake at the counter, and pick up house-made candies to take home.

Three Georges offers a variety of confections, with a focus on Southern treats such as pralines and pecan logs. It gets rave reviews for its chocolate pecan turtles and Heavenly Hash, which consists of marshmallows and pecans coated in milk chocolate. Baked goods like lemon poppy seed cake and pecan pie are also on offer, along with jelly beans and candy fruit slices. You can also get items from sister spot The Nuthouse, like glazed pecans and cheese straws.

https://3georges.com/

(251) 433-6725

226 Dauphin St, Mobile, AL 36602

Rheb's Candies has a history dating back to 1917, when newlyweds Louis and Esther Rheb began selling candy Louis made in the basement of their home. At first, they sold their treats mainly at markets, but demand was so great that they later turned their garage into a full-blown candy store. Today, the business is still run by the same family who use the original garage-turned-storefront in Baltimore, Maryland, as the main operation, with another location in Mount Airy.

The team at Rheb's Candies uses many of the original recipes that Louis Rheb developed in the early days for sweets such as chocolate butter creams, peanut clusters, and chocolate-covered cherries. You can order individual items by the half-pound, pound, or two pounds, or go for a Create-a-Box to mix and match your favorites. Rheb's also sells unique treats like the Chocolate Crabs that speak to its Maryland roots, Birthday Cake chocolates filled with vanilla cream and candy pieces, and dog bones covered in peanut butter and sprinkles for furry friends.

https://www.rhebs.com/

Multiple locations

For most of us, candy canes are a Christmas tradition that we don't really think about too much once the holidays are over. However, for Martinsville Candy Kitchen, it's a year-round obsession. That's because the company makes every candy cane by hand, just like Jimmy Zapapas did when he founded the company in 1919. The team even uses the same equipment passed down by the founder, including 100-year-old copper pots and a Vulcan gas stove.

Candy canes are central to Martinsville Candy Kitchen, with the company selling up to 40,000 every year. They come in flavors like classic peppermint, lemon, orange, and raspberry. However, there are also other sweet treats to be had at this historic candy shop. You can choose from a wide variety of chocolates, including truffles and bonbons, haystacks and clusters, and dipped nuts and fruits. The shop also offers baked goods like cookies, cream pie by the slice, and whole cakes and pies. 

https://www.martinsvillecandykitchen.com/

(765) 342-6390

46 N Main St, Martinsville, IN 46151