WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As soon as you walk through the doors of the Bulk Candy Store in West Palm Beach, you're transported back to your childhood with eyes wide as saucers, surrounded by more candy than even Willy Wonka could imagine.
The magical place makes sugar-fueled fantasies come true for visitors of all ages.
"What's it like to almost be a real life Willy Wonka? It's a lot of fun because you get to see people smile a lot," said Ken Shenkman, co-owner of the store.
If you can dream it, you'll likely find it at this candy wonderland, from huge Snickers bars to giant Pez dispensers.
The Bulk Candy Store operates as a family affair, with Ken Shenkman serving as co-owner alongside his brother, while their mother Carole handles the finances as CFO.
"The kids like all the new trends - my favorite is when the adults come in because they see a lot of candies they haven't seen in a really long time," Shenkman said.
Visitors can find all their favorite candies, from Swedish Fish to Airheads to Sour Patch Kids, plus all kinds of licorice including black licorice.
This isn't your ordinary candy shop - it's a full-blown candy wonderland featuring nostalgic favorites that transport customers back in time.
"Over here we have a lot of nostalgic favorites - you can see pop rocks if you can remember them - razzles, laffy taffy, chuckles, charleston chew," Shenkman said.
Beyond the rainbow of bulk candies and homemade fudge, the store stocks some unusual items that challenge adventurous customers.
"Behind you is another strange trend - giant gummies," Shenkman said.
"This is a 5-pound gummy bear - it's like a baby - it has 6,120 calories."
For customers with strong stomachs, the store offers truly unique options.
"So we try and get everything that's nostalgic, that's new, that's retro," Shenkman said.
"We have all sort of weird stuff - we have bugs."
The store sells cricket-based snacks where the first ingredient is actual crickets, plus scorpion lollipops featuring real scorpions with the poison removed.
"These are scorpion lollipops," Shenkman said.
"It is a real scorpion - they take out the poison thingy. I've gotten as close as the scorpion and stopped I just have no desire - the lollipop is spectacular."
The unusual treats appeal to a surprisingly broad demographic.
"8, 9, 10 year old boys, 50 year old boys, 60 year old boys. This is everybody, parents, kids. Parents will come in and challenge the kids. The kids will challenge the parents. They sometimes they'll do it right here, just for fun," Shenkman said.
"And that's what this store is really, really, all about. I mean its the candy but it's also bringing these generations together," he said.
For those preferring traditional sweets, the store offers homemade fudge and popcorn in unique flavors most people have never heard of, like cinnamon French toast or waffle cone sundae.
The store stocks over 100 specialty sodas to wash down the treats and serves as a Pez collector's paradise with characters ranging from Harry Potter to Game of Thrones.
Visitors can take educational tours that walk through the history of candy making.
"We take you from the egyptians and they're honey all the way to the most important thing to every happen in modern candy history which is the day we opened this store in 2012," Shenkman said.
The tour includes fascinating candy trivia, such as how Hershey Kisses got their name from the sound the conveyor belt makes when dropping the chocolate.
"Kisses are made on a conveyor belt that moves along as the dropper come down and drop it they sound like this - that's why they're called kisses," Shenkman said.
The store features memorabilia including a golden ticket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory signed by all the actors, including Veruca Salt, Augustus Gloop, Charlie, and Mike TV.
Visitors can create custom treats, including pound-and-a-half peanut butter cups with personalized toppings like M&Ms, pretzels, and Oreo sprinkles.
The Bulk Candy Store invites everyone to be a kid again, where every day offers a sweet, delicious, sticky adventure.
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