My kiddos are now big fans of Traci Suppa, a New York mom who pens the blog Go Big or Go Home, which chronicles her family’s visits to the world’s biggest stuff.
That’s because, thanks to Traci’s tip, we took a detour after driving the Mount Washington Auto Road to stop by the World’s Largest Candy Counter at Chutters in Littleton, NH. Our diversion only totaled about 75 minutes out of our way, and I think it was time well spent.
The candy counter at Chutters is an incredible 112 feet long, lined with more than 500 glass jars of “penny” candy (in reality, the candy costs the money = not cheap).
Don a plastic glove (yay for hygiene!) and pick from gumballs, M&Ms, Skittles, Sugar Daddys, lollipops, licorice, Tootsie Rolls, caramels, jawbreakers…
I got a kick out of the hundreds of jars of candy because some of the items I hadn’t seen in years! Remember Necco wafers, Bit o Honey and Charleston Chews?
I used to get those in my Halloween trick-or-treat bag… and then promptly hand them over to my parents. I still don’t love those types of candy — but I sure dig juicy, half-moon-shaped fruit slices, which, according to a store employee, are among the most popular candies sold here. Also big sellers: anything gummi. There are gummi bears, gummi worms, gummi sours, gummi sea creatures…
Also, jelly beans! Every flavor in the rainbow:
If you forgo the loose little pieces of candy that is are charged by weight, you can also buy individually wrapped larger items, like full size candy bars and ring pops, priced per piece.
And the fudge? Delicious! We sampled some particularly delicious Creamsicle (orange and vanilla) fudge from the small pieces on the counter.
Don’t hover around those free samples too long, though. You’ll get promptly asked by a store staffer, “Can I help you?” (aka “Stop eating all the free stuff and buy something already”).
I love its history: Chutters is named for its original owner, Frederick George Chutter, who opened adry goods store in its current location in the late 1800s.
While you won’t find bulk flour or bolts of fabric (or whatever else you might have found in a general store in the last century), the current Chutters also sells New Hampshire souvenirs, Yankee Candles, Christmas tree ornaments, wall hangings and other tchotchkes, plus cold drinks.
It’s open in the summer Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The red-brick building is smack dab in the middle of Littleton’s cute Main Street. You can’t miss its proud banner!
I’m not going to get the dentist’s bill though, right?! Yay for Bit-O-Honey!!!
Thanks for sharing… Isn’t it great to get tips like that which would other wise get missed!
Half moon shaped slices are a favourite in our house for sure!… and samples, ooh… that’s rare!
Nancy & Shawn
i know this post is dedicated to me, so i’ll just say thank you. haha ! oh gosh, i would be scared to start a bag – it would weigh like 10 pounds !!! 😉 love this post, so fun. (and your line about it so *not* being penny candy !) bookmarking it for sure. but hey, you don’t like charleston chews ? sooo good right out of the freezer. and necco wafers are totally my mom’s fave ! 😉
meanwhile, if you like seeing vintage candy, you’d get a kick out of economy candy in nyc: http://mykugelhopf.ch/2010/08/chocri/
Fun post, Kara! My. Kids. Would. Go. Crazy!
WOW. I love that blog theme and will have to bookmark them for later.