Economy Candy

Lower East Side

& why it made the Carpe City list

Welcome to candy Xanadu. There’s nothing quite like Economy Candy. Really. It’s the oldest candy store in New York, and the no-frills-all-sweets experience is a total nostalgia trip.
Economy stocks its wares floor to ceiling, an explosion of color and flavor and sugar inside the small shop.
Being at Economy is like going on a treasure hunt: they’re committed to stocking all the great candies from your childhood (and your mom’s childhood, and your grandma’s childhood…).
It all adds up to over 2,000 varieties of candy, plus vintage gumball machines, Pez dispensers and comic books you can snag for a buck.
You’ll even find old New York favorites like dried fruit and nuts and chocolate-covered everything!!!
- Pro tip: Get the chocolate covered graham crackers and freeze them. No matter how you eat them, they’re incredible, but if you eat them frozen, it’s a whole other level.
Economy Candy opened on the corner of Rivington and Essex in 1937 as Economy Shoes.
- Moishe Cohen, “The Original Candy Man,” sold candy over his shoe counter, but soon he was selling more candy than shoes. So the shoes went walking and Economy Candy was born.

In the 30s, penny candy shops like Economy were a dime a dozen. But on the LES, they were going strong into the ‘60s. By that time, at least a dozen LES candy stores thrived within walking distance of each other.
Today, Economy is the only one left, and its ties to the neighborhood are deep! Still run by the Cohen family, the current candy man is Mitchell Cohen, who returned to the store after a stint in Investment Banking.