Sometime over the last century, Halloween’s marketing geniuses and a secret alliance of candy lovers formed a pact. Rooted in the now permanently ingrained Halloween rituals tying sugary confections to princesses and goblins, sweets season is here. Grocery stores have dedicated aisles to candy for weeks already, but there is no need to risk your pearly whites for commercially corporate sugars. If indulging your inner candy addict feels like tradition, why not make it local? From brand-new to time-honored, Austin’s candy shops cover the spectrum of heartwarming classics, healthy(ish) treats, and candies wacky beyond your wildest imagination.
Big Top Candy Shop Where nostalgia meets an insatiable sweet tooth, this candy circus has a bounty of treats and an old-fashioned soda fountain to boot. Located in SoCo, selections run the gamut from ginger-root hard candies and seasonal marzipan to kooky space treats and Justice League Cotton Candy. Regularly featuring new items like giant gummy colas and bears right alongside classics such as swirled lollipops and truffles, the Halloween loot is incredible. This eccentric shop is a year-round carnival delight. 1706 S. Congress, 512/462-2220. www.bigtopcandyshop.tumblr.com
Candy Cart In the land of food trailers, it was only a matter of time until a mobile candy store was born. Owners Ryan Hocevar and Toni Kurincic repurposed a vintage truck using recycled materials and parked their sweet dream at the South Shore Eatery’s trailer complex in June. The couple’s “core values of community, collaboration, and quality” are evidenced in their shelves stocked full of high quality candy and snacks. Featuring organic, gluten-free, vegan, and fair trade treats, Candy Cart offers a little health and hope for health-conscious sugar fiends. 1620 E. Riverside, 512/639-8188. www.facebook.com/austincandycart
The Candy Jar Opened just this month, the Candy Jar is nestled in the bustling West Austin hive of Bee Cave. Catering to families and offering hundreds of sugary favorites from sticky sour gummies to Hill Country truffles by Wiseman House Chocolates in Hico, the towering bulk sections and handcrafted specialty treats are a wonderland of indulgence. New Orleans-style snowballs and seasonal cookies add to the mix, and rumor has it the Candy Fairy makes frequent stops to shower the smallest customers with smiles and sugar highs. 12700 Hill Country Blvd. Ste.T-110 in the Hill Country Galleria. www.thecandyjartx.com
Lammes Candies This family-owned Austin staple opened in 1878 on Congress Avenue, briefly changed hands in 1885 due to a poker debt, and was repurchased by the original owner’s son that same year. Lammes has been slinging their now world-famous Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines ever since. Boasting a 10-gallon hat sized selection of delectable Texas treats, such as Longhorns, Choc’Adillos, and habanero pralines, Lammes offers a variety of gift box sizes and sweetens the pot with taffies, toffees, brittle, mints, and divinity. 5330 Airport; 1000 W. 38th; Barton Creek Square Mall. www.lammes.com
Great Bean Chocolate Nora K and her handcrafted small batches of real chocolate bars ease a chocoholic’s mind by focusing on all of the sustainable, fair-trade cacao bean’s natural benefits. Available in four flavors – Bliss (vanilla crunch), Energy (coffee beans), Love (fig and cinnamon), and Mineral (sea salt and almond) – the bars can be found online and all over town in spots like the Wet Whistle and Henri’s. All of Great Bean’s products are free of soy, GMO, preservatives, and gluten. Eat chocolate, just as nature intended. www.greatbeanchocolate.com
Lollyphile Certainly doing their part to keep our city as weird as possible, this “San Francisco born, Austin raised” online candy store offers a large selection of unique lollipop flavors. Charcuterie flavors include bleu cheese and maple bacon; party pop flavors include habanero tequila, absinthe, and Chardonnay; fiery tastes include wasabi-ginger and Sriracha. Recent forays into the depths of wacky have garnered Lollyphile international headlines from the likes of Time magazine and Wired for their recent breast milk flavored lollipop. It’s vegan, actually. www.lollyphile.com
This article appears in October 25 • 2013.