In most places, if you want to pick up some of your favorite candy, you go to a big box store, a grocery store, or a convenience store. Not in Chicago, by gum. In this sweet city, we’ve got entire stores dedicated to one thing and one thing only: candy.
What would you expect from the Candy Capital of the World?
Chicago’s Best Candy Stores
Photo credit: Amy’s Candy Bar Twitter
Amy’s Candy Bar
Opened by a graduate of the French Pastry School, Food & Wine named this place one of its Top Five New Candy Shops in 2012. It’s not the biggest, but her hand-crafted caramels and nougats, plus the selection of unique and hard-to-find candy from around the world, make this a candy-lovers must-stop.
Candyality
More than just a place to get your sugar fix, these stores are on a mission to find your candy personality – your “Candyality.” Whether you like sugary, sour, fluffy, chewy, colorful, crunchy, hard, licorice, dark, milk or white chocolate, you can find your perfect match at one of their four locations.
TLTip: Love your candy lore? Candyality’s Water Tower Place location has a candy museum, sure to bring back sweet memories of your childhood.
Dylan’s Candy Bar
“When you first enter Dylan’s Candy Bar, you are greeted by the sight of a multi level sweet shop, selling everything from edible gummies and chocolate to inedible sweet treat themed products!” says Kylie Neuhaus of Between England and Iowa. With its location in Tribune Tower, this sweet super store welcomes locals and tourists to the Magnificent Mile Sugar High club. There are two floors, and when you need a break from climbing up and down the stairs to find the perfect treat, you can take a load off in the cafe, which features extravagant milkshakes and candy-themed cocktails.
The Sugar Factory
It’s a candy store; it’s a restaurant; it’s a bar; it’s Sugar Factory! More than just a place to overload on sugar, this restaurant is festooned with chandeliers and features a menu offering classic American cuisine. Think eggs benedict for brunch, burgers and flatbreads for lunch, and salmon and steak for dinner. Their signature smoking goblet drinks turn any table into a party thanks to dry ice and foot-long lollipops. They’ve got two Chicagoland locations: one in Rosemont and near the Magnificent Mile.
Photo credit Whimsical Candy
Whimsical Candy
After a visit to this subterranean sugar cube you’ll be singing La-Dee-Dah. These are their signature candies, a sinful concoction of white and chocolate nougat swirled with sea salt caramel and dipped in chocolate. While you’re there, you can pick up a gift box filled with an assortment of their favorites. Everything here is handcrafted and small batch for that extra personal touch.
