This Old-School Candy Shop In NYC Has Been A Local Mainstay For Nearly 90 Years - The Takeout

"What began as a shoe and hat repair shop with a little candy cart outside during the Great Depression evolved to become NYC's longest-standing old-school candy shop. Manhattan's local Economy Candy might have the greatest business pivot story of all time. When the candy cart parked outside the Economy Shoe storefront started attracting more customers than the repair shop itself, the owner took the hint and followed the sweet success. He transformed the shop into Economy Candy in 1937,"

"and the Cohen family took over after the end of World War II. Morris "Moishe" Cohen then passed the torch to his son, Jerry, and daughter-in-law, Ilene, in the '80s, and the couple ran the shop for more than 30 years before handing it down to their son, Mitchell, in 2013. Mitchell and his wife, Skye, have owned the candy emporium ever since."

"The old-timey candy shop persevered through the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown with creative to-go bags and "candy care packages" and has stood its ground in the face of tariffs in 2025. The store's continued success is in part thanks to social media. While the shop doesn't have the aesthetic appeal of Dylan's Candy Bar, it's got strategy and a great story to tell. The owners use product tagging on Facebook to make it easy for customers to jump from a drool-worthy photo to their online shop."

Economy Candy began as a shoe and hat repair shop with a candy cart during the Great Depression and converted into a candy shop in 1937. The Cohen family has owned the store since after World War II, passing ownership through three generations to Mitchell and Skye Cohen in 2013. The store offers approximately 2,000 candy varieties, including imported Japanese Kit-Kats and old-fashioned confections like Turkish Delights. The business adapted during the COVID-19 shutdown with to-go bags and candy care packages and navigated tariffs in 2025. Social media product tagging supports online sales, and the shop expanded to Chelsea Market in 2023 while earning national recognition.

Read at The Takeout