It’s been a pretty sweet week, with November 4 being National Candy Day and November 5 being one of two National Donut Days observed annually. Pair that with last week’s Halloween candy crash, and it’s safe to assume that many people are experiencing a serious sugar rush right about now.
The Mid-Atlantic region knows no shortage of sweet-treat destinations. Obvious examples can be found in the fact that Pennsylvania is home to Hershey, Just Born (PEEPS), and many others. What may be a little more underrated, however, is the sweet scene Ocean City, Maryland, boasts. You need only look beyond the salty sea to discover a treasure trove of treats that have been so foundational to the town’s developmental history throughout the decades. Some candy-coated callouts are so iconic that they’re now regarded as classic, can’t-miss rites of passage. For this Flashback Friday Feature, I’m taking a closer look at two of the most time-tested candy classic destinations in Ocean City, Maryland.
Candy Kitchen
Candy Kitchen has been the classic candy craver’s haven in Ocean City since 1937. That was the year when Sam Taustin opened up a candy shop along the Boardwalk at a time when America was just coming out of the Great Depression.
The farewell to leaner times led many to sink their long-deprived sweet tooth into the enticing new options Taustin’s shop presented. His most famous hits were fudge and taffy—all made in-house, on location.
From the very start, Candy Kitchen has been a family affair. Taustin, the youngest of nine children, had his whole family join him in his great business venture. Coincidentally, as the family unit grew, so did the candy business. By the 1960s, Richard Leiner—nephew to Sam Taustin—became partner, going on to expand the Candy Kitchen franchise north of the border, all the way to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware.
Currently, there are now 19 Candy Kitchen locations that exist throughout Ocean City, Maryland, and Sussex County, Delaware. The company is still family-owned and operated, with the third and fourth generations of the Leiner Family now overseeing operations.
As has always been the case, the candies created in-house here are crafted the old-fashioned way—by hand and with meticulous attention to detail. Furthermore, they use only the purest ingredients—the best quality raw materials, all locally sourced when possible. Most importantly of all, no preservatives are ever added to any of the products they produce.
Their renown within the candy community is very telling indeed. While all of their custom-produced products are desirable, their versatile fudge offerings stand out most of as the winner. Estimates show that even in the off-season Candy Kitchen employees roll out somewhere within the range of 200 pounds of the stuff weekly. Compare that to the peak tourist season during the summer months, and you have somewhere in the ballpark of 600 or more pounds every few days.
To learn more about Candy Kitchen, visit the website at www.candykitchen.com.
Dolle’s
For more than a century, Dolle’s Candyland has been the ultimate Ocean City go-to for a wide range of homemade treats of great acclaim. It was in 1906 when Rudolph Dolle and Rudolph Dolle, Sr. first arrived on the scene. Back then, the Dolle family was in the business of carousel-making. Originally based in Brooklyn, New York, they were on a quest to find a viable property to implement their hand-carved carousel. This led them to eventually settle on a site based along Ocean City, Maryland’s renowned Boardwalk—a thriving economic sector and social hub.
Four years later, in 1910, Dolle, Sr. established a small saltwater taffy stand at the same spot where his carousel was located. This was following a purchase he made to buy a small taffy cart that had been previously operated by a man on the corner near his site on the Boardwalk. And that right there was the start of what would eventually emerge into the reputed top taffy destination on the coast.
The business continued to grow where taffy was concerned. By the 1920s, the quintessential confection’s popularity even began to outpace that of the acclaimed carousel. So, when the Great Fire of 1925 ravaged the Boardwalk, rendering the carousel one of its many casualties, the family opted to instead focus on expanding the candy business rather than rebuilding the carousel.
Eventually, a larger storefront was constructed at the same location. In addition to taffy, other tasty tantalizations were also added to the lineup. Dolle’s World-Famous Salt Water Taffy remains their most popular signature offering of distinction, but there’s plenty to be said about their other famed features. Their buttery caramel popcorn is a close contender, ranking second in popularity, for instance. Not to be outdone are their fudge and caramel concoctions.
As one of Ocean City’s original candy makers still in business, Dolle’s remains a beloved community staple. They’re still family-owned and operated (fourth generation) and now boast five locations, including their original property on the Boardwalk.
Their community-wide popularity and high demand for orders year-round even led to the starting of their own private label/wholesale company—A&A Candy Company. Still made in-house, they roll out an estimated 200,000 pounds of Salt Water Taffy each year.
Learn more about Dolle’s by visiting the website www.dolles.com.
In addition to Candy Kitchen and Dolle’s, Ocean City, Maryland, has several other sweet destinations to check out. Confectionary classics are forever popular with beachgoers and remain absolute must-dos for old and young alike.