Candi’s Candies

this place is permanently closed due to be replaced by Dolci Gelati.

We came in on New Year’s Eve, and we were surprised to hear from the owner that it was their last day — they’re closing up shop for good after 8 years! What a shame — this store has the most prolific flavors of taffy that I have ever seen in the DMV area. Some of my favorites include the bacon and maple, banana cream pie, and blueberry. They have about several dozen barrels containing one unique taffy flavor. In addition to the mass market favorites, they also have some more exotic (bacon, red chile) and boutique brand of chocolates. The shop also sells rarer candies, like the one that had their heyday 50 years ago.

Despite being an Old Town local (well, I consider myself one anyway), I had never been to the waterfront. Because of the freakishly nice weather lately, I decided to walk down Whythe to the waterfront, and down that to King Street. Along the way, I came across Candi’s Candies.
I get excited at the mention of any kind of sweets, so it didn’t take much to get me through the door. As soon as I entered, I was hit with an eyeful of my childhood. So many old timey candies here! But that’s not all they have! There are newer ones in addition to the classics.
After wandering around, I made my way to the back room (I will call it the taffy room) and looked at the different flavors! They had conventional flavors like Neapolitan and blueberry, as well as outlandish ones like mango chili and maple bacon! I’m usually not one for saltwater taffy, but I couldn’t resist some of the flavors. (I was so curious about a lot of them!) I normally don’t like saltwater taffy because the ones that I’ve had are always so hard and get stuck in my teeth. The taffies here were fresh and soft and so chewy! I’m a taffy convert.
I didn’t get very many taffies (maybe a generous handful or so) and my total came out to a little under $ 2.50. I handed the woman my card, but she said she couldn’t run it for such a small amount. Because I didn’t have any cash on me, she said she could run it if I got the total up to about $ 5. So I grabbed some Turkish Taffy as well and was on my merry way.
There are so many unique types of candies here! I really liked going through the PEZ dispensers (though they didn’t have the price on them and it was crowded with only one worker, so I didn’t bother asking). Now that I know what to expect the next time I come in, I will head straight for the taffy and get well over $ 2.50 worth!

Had a pleasant experience. They have a very wide assortment of candy, including a lot of novelty items. The prices were reasonable, which is my usual problem with candy shops.
The clerk was sweet, letting me sample a pear-​flavored Jelly Belly, one I never tried.
Nice small biz atmosphere with good selection and competitive pricing. Highly recommend

This is a nice little candy shop in the center of Old Town. There is not a whole lot of stock out on display, but there are some old fashioned sweets that are usually hard to come by. I had trouble finding any prices, do that kept me from buying more.
The back room with all of the taffy was impressive. There were so many unique flavors! However, I didn’t see a scale I could use to weigh out my pickings.
While my friend has had a good interaction with the woman working at the cash register, she was extremely unfriendly to me, which I found rude and ironic… but I guess there is more to life than candy?

As others have mentioned, the shop owner is extremely friendly! There is an abundant amount of selections and candies that I haven’t seen in quite a few years. If you’re a salt-​water taffy fan, there’s quite a few barrels of different flavors. If you have questions about anything, the store owner is more than happy to let you sample things and make recommendations; she was nice enough to throw in a few freebies with my purchases just because.

We were walking up as she was closing but she waved us in, and was amazingly friendly. Our out of town friends wanted some Saltwater Taffy for their trip home and I knew the go to spot for that, little did they know they would also find all their childhood memories. I always get some Sixlets and Mary Jane when i’m there and I love that there are new options each time I go in. Most of the candy is by weight and they have a great selection of European candy including my beloved Curly Whirly (remember the old Marathon bar?). We keep going back.

Not your so typically candy store — you can get individual flavors of jelly beans, taffy, licorice, etc there, which is nice cause there is always that one flavor that you never want to eat.
I picked out a handful of salt water taffy’s from the barrels in the back and paid less than $ 1 for all of them — pretty cheap if you ask me.
I did notice the pre-​packaged candies are more expensive though — so stick to the loose, by weight stuff

I found this place totally by accident (maybe) while making a trip to City Hall. It was still a little early, so I went to have breakfast and made my way back to N. Fairfax. From peeking in the window earlier, I knew I would find some of my favorites. Once in the store, I IMMEDIATELY saw my favorite candy — sour belts!!! Then I turned right and saw a ROOM of taffy. Heaven!
So glad I found this place and look forward to going back.
Oh, and it would be helpful to put store hours sign outside. It may have been on the inside door, but I didn’t realize that there was an entry way to the building.

Been here a few times already. I guess I never got around to writing a review though.
You can buy candy anywhere. What sets this place apart? It’s not your supermarket variety of adult chocolate bars and hard candies, but the variety of candy you recognized as a kid that you didn’t know they still made. Super duper sized jaw breakers and gummy coke bottles the size of… well coke bottles (not quite but you get the idea), to name a couple.
Careful though, if possible, politely ask for a sample of the bulk candy. Not sure if they’ll let you but doesn’t hurt to ask even if there are signs that say not to sample the candy. My Banana runts REALLY didn’t taste anything like banana runts. If I were to sum it up in one word, they tasted chemically. Definitely not the «real» runts.
What sets this place apart from your typical Candy Heaven in the mall? It’s pretty similar but being located in Old Town Alexandria does make it feel a little more old fashion feel.

I’ve been here on several occasions & each time I end up leaving with more candy than I’d planned on. From years of experience, I’d consider myself an expert on candy, chocolates and the like. A connoisseur if you will.
This store definitely delivers in terms of quality, overall selection & variety.
They have tons of uniquely flavored taffy, a wide range of chocolate treats (bars, fudge, coated nuts/​raisins, etc.), plenty of candy (sour, gummy, chewy, crunchy, old-​school classics) and many other interesting offerings (candy-​coated crickets if you’re ready to push the boundaries).
One note (& I believe most stores like this operate similarly) is that much of the candy in the store is sold by weight, so keep track of what you’re grabbing & filling your bag with. Of course, there are also plenty of packaged bags of candy, chocolate bars, and other individually sold items you can grab as well.
I’ve been thoroughly impressed with their selection each time & highly recommend stopping in if you’re in the mood for sweets! Just don’t walk in already hungry because you’ll pay severely in your dental bill, later on.

Holy Mackerel, this place is AWESOME! I have always seen signs for this place in Old Town but had pictured in my mind a tiny place with a couple bins of some weird crap and some fudge. Never did I expect what I found in here:
Walk in, head to the back room and you will see barrels upon barrels upon barrels of SALT WATER TAFFY! Literally, there were about 50 barrels in there, each holding a unique flavor of taffy. I went nuts in there scooping all the flavors I could, and there were some really funky ones as well as the classics. Delicious and amazing!
In addition to the incredible salt water taffy collection, I was pleased to find they were well-​stocked with some of my favorites:
–nerd boxes and nerd ropes: nerd ropes seem to be disappearing from gas stations and CVSs everywhere! Not only did they have nerd ropes but also nerd boxes of many different flavors. I got the grape/​strawberry combo.
–banana-​flavored now & later blocks, large banana-​flavored airheads (and banana flavored taffy). Banana flavor is my favorite for candies and for flavored rum drinks. They had some great banana-​flavored selections here, although I did not see my beloved isolated banana-​flavored runts.
–lollipops: old fashioned lollipops in cinnamon and butterscotch flavors, Tootsie Pops. Old time lollipops are another item that used to be ubiquitous but are disappearing from Cracker Barrel stores at an alarming rate. Also, CVS has been giving me convulsions recently by not adequately restocking their tootsie pops when they run out. Shame! I am pleased to see that I can get my fix at Candi’s.
–the candy that is shaped like a baby bottle and the top is like a lollipop and you dip it in the sugar powder in the bottle — I don’t know the name for them but I love those, and they have them! They also have old fashioned things like pop rocks.
–giant pixi-​stick straws: another amazing choice, even though I always pour down my gullet too fast and end up having coughing fits.
Candy is a pretty big waste of money, and I am sorry to say that I blew a lot of it here. But it is so amazing! My several pound purchase of taffies and other delights lasted a couple days and filled me with tremendous joy!

This place is really gives me deep feelings of nostalgia. Ah, what great memories.
I can still remember the first day that I discovered Candi. Each time I go here I am very much, for lack of a better cliché, «a kid in a candy store». There is a great selection of candies from the past and it was very exciting to be able to enjoy them again.
I have to be mindful when shopping here because my excitement causes me to over load my shopping basket. Unlike the «good old days», the majority of the candy is sold by weight so the price can add up quickly.
Whenever, I’m headed to the Alexandria City Marina, I like to pop in for a visit down memory lane.

This little shop used to be good, but unfortunately no more. First, the candy: used to have a lot of import and retro candies. Not anymore. In addition, taffies are all mislabeled, so you have no idea what you’re buying.
Now, the staff. HORRIBLE!!! Hey lady… GET OFF THE FREAKING PHONE WHEN YOU HAVE CUSTOMERS! Maybe you’ll give correct change. And get your freaking hands OFF my purse. Yes, it’s pretty… ASK BEFORE YOU TOUCH!
I’ve been going to this shop since they opened. No more. I’m not taking the abuse anymore. I’ll get my sweets off the internet. Shipping charges are better than having my personal property handled without permission.

I love the selection but am tired of the rude staff. When I went in two weeks ago, the women behind the counter didn’t even acknowledge me when I entered. They continued to listen to loud music and carry on a personal conversation using frequent profanity. It’s a small store which makes it even more uncomfortable when the staff ignore you or act as through you’re a nuisance. It’s not the first time this has happened. Despite the good selection, I’m not sure if I’ll be back.

Candi’s Candies is without a doubt one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to. Seriously! If I wasn’t for my fiancé there to regulate, things could have gotten out of hand very quickly.
If you are really lost trying to find a gift for someone, I thing this is definitely the place to get help making that decision. There are so many unique delicacies, it’s hard to even put into perspective.
Also the owner who stands right behind the register is extrmely helpful and friendly. People like her set the standards in this city, in my opinion.

I have actually never seen so much candy — and quite the variety too — in one place. I circled the store multiple times and every time I found something new. Basically every type of sweet and chocolate can be found here. I’m talking like old 80s/​90s brand candies, some international sweets, and HUGE baskets of taffy in the back.
I adore Old Town and if you’re ever in the area, definitely stop by here! You never know what you’ll find. As for me, I left with some Cadbury, assorted chocolate boxes, and a scorpion lollipop. Yes, with a real scorpion inside. It was delicious.

If I were to rate this establishment based solely on the quality of the candy and the décor it would be four stars. Here you have a store that is above average in its selection of candy (there was a giant gummy snake the size of a python) from different eras, and the décor is reminiscent of an old timey candy shoppe with an entire room full of saltwater taffy with a number of flavors I have never seen (among them, maple bacon).
What puts this place over the top is the fact that the business owner is behind the register. She was welcoming and conversational while we toured the store and offered us numerous free samples. Prior to our arrival, we ate dinner on King Street and I was carrying a container of leftover food. On our way out, she offered me a bag to carry the food in, even though it was not something she sold me. This is a rare gem, where you are able to chat up the business owner (who is a true sweetheart) while shopping at the store.
Located right off the King Street main drag, this is a low-​visibility store that really deserves more attention. If you are looking to support a local high-​quality establishment, then I implore you to give this place a look.

I was partly still on sugar overload from two weeks ago, when I baked too many sugar cookies for our Kids Club Holiday Gift Making Party, and ate all the extra cookies myself (which had to number two dozen). My roommate also baked at least a dozen muffins the day before she moved out, which was only a couple days after the Kids Club party. I ate those too.
Still, I cannot walk by a sweet shop that I haven’t been to without going inside and purchasing something.
I went straight to all the Taffy, and decided I was going to buy only one piece, since there was still a gallon of sugar circling the inside of my brain. I picked up one piece of Key Lime Taffy, walked to the register with change in hand, told the cashier I just wanted one piece, and she let me have it for free! SCORE!
I hadn’t read the reviews here beforehand, so I wasn’t sure if I could sample or not, and I wasn’t there long enough for them to offer them to me before I got to the register, so I was one happy, surprised, camper when I got to the register!
I like surprises! It’s like how I go see movies without ever having seen the trailer. I won’t be able to say all the best stuff was in the trailer, because I never saw the thing! This makes life much sweeter (No pun intended)! ;)

An old fashioned candy store with old fashioned service, which is to say that you’re guaranteed to leave with a smile and some great candy.
If you love taffy, you’re especially likely to love this store as they have a large room at the back with barrel after barrel of various types of taffy and you can grab a few of one, a few of another, etc. to create your own bag of assorted taffies. They also have an entire rack of Canadian chocolate bars such as Aeros and Smarties. And don’t miss the huge gummy worms — about the height of a six year old!