Classic candy is making a comeback on Long Island

Growing up in Patchogue, Lynne Grant Greenberg was a big fan of Candy Buttons, classic sweets presented as multicolored flavored mini dots.

"We used to eat them off the paper," says Greenberg, 73, a retired teacher living in Levittown. "My husband was crazy about them too. I was talking the other day about how candy brings you back to when you were little."

So much so, candy is a sort of time machine. Between the powerful wave of nostalgia and the persuasive push of social media, retro candy is going strong on Long Island. People are reaching from A to Z (Atomic Fireballs to Zagnuts) for an oldies-but-goodies sugar rush.

"For many of our customers, it’s about comfort," says Eileen Caplin Wysel, 74, who owns Bobb Howard’s General Store, which specializes in old-time candy. "Retro candy brings people back to a simpler time and childhood memories."

'Newstalgia' for retro candy

At the 80-year-old New Hyde Park store opened by her parents that Wysel runs with her husband, Ronnie, 77, shoestring licorice laces, malted milk balls, Reggie Bars, Bazooka bubble gum (yes, iconic comics are tucked inside) and Pop Rocks are big hits with customers.

"We have people coming in who were kids in the '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s and more recently," she says. "We have candy they grew up with."

That includes Nik-L-Nips, better known as wax bottles. Remember? You bite (nip) the top off the tiny translucent waxy bottles, drink what’s inside and chew the containers.

Since going viral on TikTok and Instagram, where influencers waxed enthusiastically about the treats, they've been in hot demand. While older adults chase after childhood sips, Gen-Zs and millennials have discovered the taste bud ticklers.

Kids have outpaced grandparents since the viral attention at The Sweet Spot Shoppe in Plainview. "Young people see it on TikTok, and then they come in for it," says store owner Gary Rosen, who stocks a mix of old-school treats. "But everyone wants wax bottles."

Lauren Engel has had the same experience at her shop, Sweet Arts in Northport, which combines an old-school candy store and a studio and party space. "The blue raspberry flavor has been particularly hot for about the past year," she says. "Lately, everything is blue raspberry."

That includes Smarties, the tiny tablets that have been curbing cravings since 1949. In July, the company added a blue raspberry flavor.

In a news release the Smarties Candy Company noted: "The launch taps into growing demand for nostalgic brands that balance familiarity with unexpected twists, particularly products designed to spark conversation online and fuel fan speculation."

Meanwhile, Butterfinger – the "crispety, crunchety, peanut-buttery" bar introduced in 1923 – released a French toast flavor in February. It was the brand’s third innovation in a year.

This everything-old-is-new-again tweaking falls under the umbrella of "newstalgia." Classic candy is reimagined with fresh flavors, making a beloved favorite a little different. But not too much.

People have a connection with their favorite candy, according to Jordan Nikravesh, 42, who owns Long Island Candy, a distributor and wholesaler with a cash-and-carry department in Hauppauge. "It’s very personal," he says, "and very strong."

Reviving childhood memories

Ask Taylor Lally, 35, who runs a specialty store and website thesnackspy.com  inside Long Island Candy. He knows the power of memories and candy, especially when it comes to Now and Later chews. They’ve been around for over 60 years.

"I associate them with spending time at the town pool with my mom as a kid in the late ’90s," he says. "They had them at the concession there. It’s a very nostalgic candy for me, and every time I see one in the warehouse, it brings me right back to the pool."

For Rhoda Staiti, 72, a Nassau County Department of Social Services retiree who lives in Mineola, the mention of root beer barrels and Junior Mints whisks her back some six decades.

As a girl in North Bellmore, she’d trek to the nearby luncheonette’s candy counter with her siblings. It was a sweet family ritual. "My sister, brother, and I are constantly sharing memories like these," she says.

HC Reg Service LLC – a private DMV service helping with vehicle registrations, titles, plates and paperwork in Island Park – now houses Hope’s Land of Candy. Nostalgic sweets are a store specialty.

"A lot of our customers are celebrating milestones, like their 40th, 50th or 60th birthdays," says co-owner Danny Ciaccia, 38. "For their parties they want favors from when they were young. It’s a flashback to their childhood."

In addition to black licorice and Chick-O-Sticks, candy "cigarettes," which have been around for over a century, are fast sellers. They’re now often called candy sticks, reflecting efforts to avoid glamorizing smoking.

Bobb Howard’s General Store carries them too, but they won’t sell the novelties to anyone under age 18 "We don’t promote smoking," Wysel says. "But they’re in our top five sellers."

The age-old lesson: You can’t argue with a sweet tooth.