A Tour of Economy Candy, the Best and Craziest Candy Store in NYC

Exterior

Economy Candy opened in 1937 and has become a Lower East Side institution over the decades.

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Robyn Lee

It feels like we're only one or two generations away from the phrase "kid in a candy store" becoming entirely anachronistic. While corner candy shops were a dime a dozen less than a century ago, only a few remain today, and glitzy new efforts like Pop Tarts World don't come close to filling the void.

So where's a kid (or a kid at heart) supposed to get their sugar fix these days? Economy Candy, the Lower East Side's—and by extension New York's—greatest, craziest candy store.

Loose candy

The shop, which opened in the wake of the Great Depression in 1937 and has been going strong ever since, is packed to the gills with candies both vintage and modern. Want some peanut chews, wax lips, and mega lollipops? Economy Candy probably has you covered. Curious to try every species of gummy animal under the sun? They have almost all of them, along with some candy shoelaces for good measure. And yes, you can buy modern candies like Hershey's and M&M's. It's just that those M&M's also come in a five-pound bag.

But Economy Candy's pride and joy may be their extensive selection of dried fruits, nuts, halvah, and chocolate-covered everything made by a Pennsylvania chocolate company. For a taste of the real old New York, there's nothing like noshin on a chocolate-coated dried apricot; more modern tastes may appreciate the graham cracker and fluffy marshmallow squares enrobed in chocolate, a modern take on the s'more.

I think we need a shopping cart

Economy Candy accepts online orders, but it's best visited in person to appreciate just how much sugar they pack in the aisles and up the walls in this relatively small storefront. To that end we've put together a little photo tour to give you a sense of what you can expect on your visit.

Take a look at the slideshow and follow along as we act like, well, kids in a candy store.