These mid-Hudson candy shop owners want customers to 'feel like a kid again'

Dutchess County’s newest small business offers a selection of old-time sweets.

Quincy’s Candy Shop has been dubbed by neighbors as “the Wonka’s of Wappingers."

Husband-and-wife ownership duo Amy Hall and George Hirsch fled to the Hudson Valley from Brooklyn at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and were among the thousands who remained upstate, putting down roots where they had spent many weekends hiking and exploring.

As they got to know their new town, the couple found themselves waiting for a new candy shop to open.

“I feel like every good small town has their local candy store,” Hall said. “We were just watching the town develop, and with every business that opened, I would say, ‘I hope that’s our candy store!’”

Last fall, the pair bit the sugared bullet and quit their corporate jobs to open one themselves, diving headfirst into the realm of all things sweet and delectable.

“I always had this dream of owning my own shop,” Hall said, having spent her childhood watching her parents operate a pair of restaurants in her home state of Alabama.

For Hirsch, sugar is in his blood – his great-grandfather operated a candy counter and luncheonette in the Bronx. The sweet tooth gene skipped two generations, however, as his father and grandfather both dedicated their careers to dentistry.

Much of the store’s development has centered around exploring confections made internationally and locally, as Hirsch and Hall sampled treats they never would have considered a year ago, including chocolate-covered gummy bears and elderflower gummies made in Sweden.

The hardwood floors and columns of pick-and-mix dispensers are a nod to Scandinavian-style candy shops, which tend to feature sweets with natural ingredients and unique flavors.

A gleaming case at the store’s entrance is filled with chocolate bonbons made in Vermont, stacked in pristine pyramids. Behind the more than 100 varieties of pick-and-mix candies is the international selection, featuring chocolates from Japan, Mexico, Australia and Europe.

Hirsch and Hall have gotten to know their new neighbors through their candy selections, soliciting input from their Instagram followers for their favorite childhood candies and hearing scores of stories about candy stores of days gone by.

“We definitely want the retro stuff,” Hall said. “We want people to feel like a kid again when they come in.”

And so the store is filled with rows of confections now considered vintage and classic, including wax lips, Dots, Chiclets and Pixy Stix – now marketed as “Silly Stix” after the latter was discontinued.

“When we were creating the store, we focused a lot on how we wanted people to feel,” Hall said. “We wanted to be a meaningful addition to the community and for people to feel connected.”

The store’s namesake is the couple’s dog, Quincy, a 12-year-old Shih Tzu-Pekingese mix who was rescued from the beaches of the Bronx nearly a decade ago.

“The name is kind of old-timey, and Quincy’s Candy Shop kind of rolls off the tongue,” Hall said.

In turn, the dog was named for his resemblance to Jack Klugman’s character in the eponymous “Quincy, ME.”

“He’s really sweet, but I call him our curmudgeon old man,” Hall said of their dog, who prefers to spend his days at home or at the park.

Quincy’s Candy Shop is located at 2651 East Main St. in Wappingers Falls. The store is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

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Other candy shops to visit in the mid-Hudson Valley

Samuel’s Sweet Shop

42 E. Market St., Rhinebeck, NY 12572

Founded in 1994 by New York City expat Ira Gutner, Samuel’s Sweet Shop is currently owned by actors Paul Rudd and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who have been known to make appearances in the village.

Samuel’s features a selection of handmade chocolates, old-fashioned candy, specialty espresso drinks and baked goods.

Kingston Candy Bar

319 Wall St., Kingston, NY 12401

Boasting “nostalgic sweets and Hudson Valley treats,” the Kingston Candy Bar offers a wide selection of baked goods, including homemade doughnuts and cinnamon buns, and pints of Kingston-based Jane’s Ice Cream, hand-packed to order.

The store offers pickup, shipping and delivery options.

Alps Sweet Shop

269 Main St., Beacon, NY 12508

1054 Main St., Fishkill, NY 12524

Now in its third generation of ownership, Alps Sweet Shop still produces its handmade candies and chocolates in a factory in Beacon.

Satisfy your sweet-and-salty cravings with chocolate-covered potato chips, pretzels and assorted nuts, available at locations in Beacon and Fishkill.

Fizzy Lifting Soda Pop Candy Shop

17 Main St., Warwick, NY 10990

Offering craft sodas, bulk candy and novelty items in rows upon rows of glass jars and display cases, the Fizzy Lifting Soda Pop Candy Shop boasts a whimsical feel.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Quincy's joins lineup of unique candy shops in mid-Hudson Valley