The Candy Store.
We City Kids had no malls.
We had Jimmy's or Rocky's or Willie's.
We had candy stores.
The candy store was our “second home”, “community center”, “pleasure palace”.
We’d hang out there until we were thrown out for not buying anything.
The “candy store” was very simply a formative part of our everyday lives.
My candy store was Frank’s on Grand Avenue and 182nd Street in the Bronx.
I would visit Frank’s 2-3 times a day.
Now, while I’d love to be able to tell a warmly touching story about
how Frank became my confidante, my mentor, my father confessor…
Not so much.
Frank and I never developed a “meaningful relationship”.
Sure he recognized me...
but basically, he took my nickels and dimes with barely a word shared.
Being a candy store, of course Frank’s did have candy.
My faves:
- Teeth-destroying Rock Candy,
- $100 Grand Bars,
- Sugary “Watermelon slices”,
- Nik-L-Nips (tiny wax ‘soda bottles’ filled with syrup),
- Root Beer Barrels,
- Bit-O-Honey,
- Red licorice “shoelaces” .
- Peanut-shaped/banana-flavored meringue-y things.
But, oh there was so much more than candy!
I was a big Popsicle guy!
“Ice pops” back then were very different from today’s frozen treats.
No “real fruit/all juice” healthy stuff…
Nah, this was pure indulgence!
Cherry, Orange or Grape.
(All “flavoring”, no juice).
With DOUBLE sticks (for sharing??).
They were stored in the freezer tub in the front of Frank’s, with no expiration date...
so I suspect they may have been there, frozen in time for more than a few summers.
When you grabbed one, they were rock solid.
The paper wrap was usually stuck frozen onto the pop itself…
so with every bite, you’d get a tasty bit of paper.
For more gourmet tastes, there was the chocolate-lover’s Fudgsicle …
or the genius creation, the Creamsicle...orange ice over vanilla ice cream.
Icy ecstasy!
Frank also offered an enticing menu of thirst-quenching options.
On a hot day, there were few things in life more satisfying....
then thrusting your sweaty arm into a freezing tank of ice block-filled water...
and pulling up a glass bottle of Coca Cola or Pepsi Cola…
or reaching deeper, defying frostbite...
and coming up with Mission Orange or Grape!
Or you could step up to the counter for a fountain Cherry Coke.
Frank would pour a bit of intense cherry syrup into the pointy bottom
of a conical paper cup, sitting inside a stainless steel holder...
and then fill the cone with a squirt of seltzer.
Small- 6 cents; Large -12 cents.
And then, there was the quintessential candy store delight…
The Egg Cream.
MUST be made with U-Bet Chocolate Syrup, milk and seltzer (for some reason demanding to be squirted off the elongated steel mixing spoon!)
Of course, my mom greatly preferred that her super-skinny son opt for a more “healthy” alternative...
a rich, creamy chocolate malted to help him put on a few pounds.
(Thanks a lot Mom!! Today, it certainly looks like it worked!)
But, beyond the edible delights…
Frank’s offered pretty much everything one would need for a complete and happy life:
- Comic books,
- Teen magazines,
- Spauldeens,
- Stickball bats,
(although true players only used their Mom’s broomsticks!),
- “Song sheets” with the lyrics of the top hits of the day,
- Balsa wood “airplanes”,
- Jump ropes,
- “Sparklers”…
and BASEBALL CARDS!
NOTE: Baseball cards were such a major force in my life, it will get its own post!
So you can have your Godivas, Dylan’s, M&M Superstores...
Me?
I know what a real “candy store” is.
Would love to hear about your neighborhood Candy Store.
