"In the middle of Bushwick stands a tiny sovereign nation, where the borders are black and orange bunting, a fanged jack-o'lantern is the coat of arms, and, most importantly, where it's always Halloween. An intricate spider web of crepe paper, and paper flowers entwined with autumn leaves spans the ceiling, corner to corner. Travel to this magical land—aka Eugene J. Candy Co.—for their quirky homemade confections. The owner, Eugene, was in engineering school when became obsessed with making his own gummy bears. Now, this Willy Wonka of Brooklyn begins his weekdays at 4am, crafting candy in a small workspace behind the shop. He’s become well known for documenting his process on TikTok—and for his customer-favorite Freaks, a homegrown version of Nerds flavored with citrus essential oils. photo credit: Alex Staniloff photo credit: Alex Staniloff photo credit: Alex Staniloff photo credit: Alex Staniloff photo credit: Alex Staniloff Eugene J. Candy Co. stocks an impressive variety of goodies, including wax lips, Idaho Spud bars, marshmallow cereal treats, Krispy Kreme jelly beans, and even cleaver-shaped sour cherry gummies that come in a Jason Voorhees tin. There’s also a treasury of bulk candy priced at $16 per pound, including hard-to-come-by Swedish favorites like sour skulls and Bubs ovals. But pay special attention to the tubs bearing a wax seal maker’s mark. Those sweets are Eugene’s own handiwork, made on the premises. We especially love the crisp strata of the chocolate-covered Cinnamon Toast Crunch and the textural rollercoaster that is the chocolate-covered Nerds Gummy Clusters." - Molly Fitzpatrick
