Had your share of the same-old, same-old Easter candies, (peeps, chocolate eggs and jelly beans), then take a walk with me to discover some of New York’s unique candy shops that will give a fresh spin on your favorite sweets.
I started my journey in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn where I was introduced to an adorable candy store! The Sugar Shop is home to all your favorite childhood candies, like the original Peanut Chews and Pop Rocks, wrapped in their original nostalgic wrappers. They offer over 20 different jellybean flavors including Ice cream birthday cake and cotton candy. The shop is designed to bring you back into your childhood and keep you coming back for more.
Next up, I stopped by Papabubble. Located in between Little Italy and Chinatown, Papabubble is the daddy of all custom candies. Skilled artists and graduates of the finest art institutes create all candy by hand. In fact, if you come to the store between 1pm and 2pm, you can watch them make these delicious treats live. You can customize your candy as a gift for a friend; you pick the flavors and the message. All candies are different but are created equally. I filled up my Easter eggs with the pillow shaped fruit mix candies.
Working my way uptown, I checked out Liddabit Sweets at Chelsea Market. At Liddabit Sweets, all sweets are made with local ingredients. They are mostly known for their hand made candy bars. Each candy bar takes a unique stab at your favorite candy bar flavor and makes it better. I tried The Lime in the Coconut and I will say that I was in paradise! All candy bars are larger than your normal size candy bar and they have no artificial flavor or hydrogenated oils. All sweets are made with seasonal ingredients and in smaller batches so everything stays fresh.
Kelly “The Candyman” Jaitme and his wife Glyn have been running The Sweet Shop on 73rd based on their love for “the sweet life”. As soon as I walked in, I felt like I was 7 years old again. I was called straight to the gummy candies where I quickly proceeded to try the fill a bag with chicken feet and bears. My favorite purchase had to be the massive jar of assorted jellybeans that I ate half of on my way to my final stop of the day.
Treat House is the place to go for a not-so-guilty treat. The Treat house specializes in re-creating our all time favorite marshmallow treats. All treats are gluten free and kosher made with natural ingredients and are low in fat and calories. I decided to try the “Bearly In Love” red velvet and coconut treat. Both were delicious so I brought home a variety of treats to share with my mom. All I could think about was those up and coming summer nights when my sweet tooth is craving something special; I cant wait to go back to each and every shop!
Contributed by Denise Pina
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
