Sweet deals as low as 2 cents

At the Candy Kitchen, celebrating its 50th year in Madeira Beach, the Jawbusters, Mary Janes and $12 Chupa lollipops may cost more, but the Pixy Stix go for two pennies each.

By PIPER JONES CASTILLO

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 12, 2000

While the sun sets behind clouds off Madeira Beach, Saturday night customers stand in an overflowing line outside the Candy Kitchen. Inside the brick gingerbread house, patrons choose between the likes of Slo Pokes, Turkish taffy and red string licorice.

This place, celebrating its 50th birthday this summer, could be described as Willy Wonka's nirvana.

At least 500 kinds of candy fill jars, glass display cases and wooden shelves. They range in price from two-cent Pixy Stix to $12 Chupa lollipops. Nostalgic candies like Atomic Fireballs, Jawbusters and Mary Janes beckon parents down memory lane, while their kids drool over the fudge and ice cream, made by hand in the back of the store.

Since 1950, locals and tourists alike have come to satisfy afternoon cravings and for after-dinner treats. For more than 30 years, the store was owned by Kirt and Helen Johnson of Clearwater. In 1996, Les and Andi Holybee, along with their son, Brad, bought the store for $46,000 from Kris Hackney of New Jersey, who had owned the business for a brief time.

"Nothing much has changed since the original owners," says Les Holybee. "Except the floor and parking lot used to be made of sand."

When the Holybee family decided to move to Florida from Utah, they planned on operating a small business together, and perhaps, it would be a store boosted by Florida's tourism industry.

"We were looking at small businesses like a frozen yogurt store," says Holybee.

Instead, they've been pleasantly surprised.

"We bought a 46-year-old business," says Brad Holybee. "It was stable, but I didn't expect it to be quite this busy," he says, pointing to customers shoulder-to-shoulder in the tiny, 600-square-foot space. "We gotta be here seven days a week."

And sales at the Candy Kitchen do not hinge on winter tourists after all, says Les Holybee. "Our sales keep growing. Sales have increased 30 percent every year," Les Holybee says. "Our busiest time is the summer when kids are out of school."

From their perch underneath red and white hurricane awnings, 3-year-old Josh Alter and his 5-year-old sister Alexia finish up ice cream cones. Their grandmother, Sheila German of Seminole, monitors the drippage. "My daughter grew up here, and when she and her family visit from Fort Lauderdale we come here," German says. "This is a memory of her youth."

The Holybees do not plan on messing with tradition. "The fudge and ice cream are recipes created by the original owners," Les Holybee says.

Some modern-day conveniences have crept in. There's a soft ice cream machine to aid the ice cream making technique, and a Web site -- www.candykitchen.net -- to promote sales globally.

As dusk turns to dark, three cars idle along Gulf Boulevard waiting for a parking space at the Candy Kitchen. Scott Tripp of Gulfport juggles a castnet, bait bucket and fishing pole through the cars, and he climbs into his small boat docked behind the Candy Kitchen.

"Giant jawbreaker," he explains, pointing to his swollen cheek. "Top of the shelf as you walk in. And, man, I only come by boat. For this traffic, can't beat it."

Candy Kitchen

• WHERE: 13711 Gulf Blvd., Madeira Beach

• HOURS: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• PHONE: 392-6803.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.