Avocado and cheese Doritos? Scallop-butter Lay’s? Send your taste buds on a trip at Hartford’s TJ Exotixs

It’s not all about the potato chips.

But The Whole Shebang kettle-cooked potato chips, the crispy snacks that initially were available only in U.S. prisons, are among myriad exotic, hard-to-get items at TJ Exotixs, a specialty convenience store at 479 Farmington Ave.

Owner TJ Persaud opened the business a little over two years ago, slightly before the pandemic, after seeing a similar store while he was out in California.

“Nobody else around here had it, and when I came back and looked into it, there was one in Pawtucket, Rhode Island,” he said. “I went out there and looked at it and decided to open something like this.”

Though The Whole Shebang Chips and Faygo sodas are available in the U.S., the overwhelming majority of items on sale at the store — candy, chips, chocolates and sugary drinks — come from, or are available solely in far-flung places such as Brazil, Australia, Turkey, Japan, China, England and Germany.

In the age of the internet and online retailers such as Amazon, it’s fairly easy to obtain Avocado and Cheese Doritos or shrimp-flavored, black-truffle-flavored or scallop-butter Lay’s potato chips (all from Japan), but they typically have to be bought in bulk and there can be a substantial wait, weeks if not months, for the shipment to arrive.

At TJ Exotixs, however, patrons can walk in and purchase one bag of Twix Pods (Australia), Pudding or Green Tea Kit-Kats (Japan) or Skittles Chewies (the popular candy without shells from the U.K.) to satisfy even the most extravagant sweet tooth.

“Everything here you’re mostly going to see online and it’s nice to see in the store and just buy it for yourself rather than order it on Amazon or a third-party sending you a box,” said Persaud, who grew up in Hartford and graduated from Bulkeley High in 2011.

“You can pick what you want,” he said. “I have a supplier in Japan, who sends me most of the stuff. And he has some contacts from other places and I order from him. We all work together.”

Persaud has a couple of coolers stocked with bubbly delights such as white peach soda, Orange Yogurt Fanta, and Mjito 7-Up.

There is, however, a premium to be paid for the indulgences. Bags and cans (there are hard-to-find Pringles) of chips can run $3 to $5 more than what’s typically offered in the U.S. The same holds true for the candies and the sodas, Persaud said, adding that the markup is largely due to shipping costs.

Not that customers seem to mind. Persaud said his store is doing well, and he’s had people travel up to two hours to shop at his store, which is less than 700 square feet.

“It’s been going good,” he said, noting he wants to find a location in downtown Hartford so he can expand. “I can’t complain. [The store] is different. It’s for people who want to try something different.”

For adventurous souls who want to try an eclectic mix of what’s on offer, TJ Exotixs has mystery bags filled with treats that go for $15.

In addition, TJ Exotixs also takes orders through its website and delivers via UberEats and DoorDash.

Paul Sanborn, a Farmington resident and potato chip maven who posts chip reviews on social media, says The Whole Shebang kettle-cooked chips are worth the trip alone.

“These chips are awesome,” Sanborn raved upon the first crunch. “They are kettle cooked so the crunch is in there and the flavor is similar to ‘all dressed.’ I would say these aren’t fully dressed yet, but they are like when your kid is ready to go but just can’t seem to find that sock they had on earlier in the day.”

TJ Exotixs, 479 Farmington Ave., is open Monday to Saturday, noon to 9 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. For more information, visit tjexotixs.com

Ted Glanzer can be reached at tglanzer@courant.com.