Tag Archives: candy

The Holiday Mailbox at the Lincoln District Post Office

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So, the United States Post Service (#USPS) has an app that converts mailboxes into magical gingerbread houses (or gingerbread mailboxes or gingerbread fireplaces or something!). I downloaded the free app, found a mailbox and the app captured the mailbox and before my eyes made it into a work of holiday art. Things I learned include:

  • It is always the same piece of art no matter where the mailbox is
  • It has to be a functioning mailbox, not one that has been painted over
  • You really can buy stamps with the app, and
  • I’m easily amused!

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Tacoma Historic Society

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imageThe Tacoma Historic Society at 919 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402 has been at this location since March 2014 (two years) and today dear husband and I finally made it for a visit. I was eager to see the Tacoma Candy exhibit (Sweet Success) before it went away on March 26th. While it is not a huge museum like the Washington State History Museum, it is well curated and so very interesting.  I really loved seeing the machine that makes ribbon candy. I thought it was a musical instrument at first! The Mission Statement of the Tacoma Historical Society is as follows “Tacoma Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation, promotion and presentation of the history of the City of Tacoma and its people.” 

While the exact number of Tacoma Candy makers isn’t known, there was about 75 of them. The three remaining ones that I can think of are Brown & Haley, Johnson’s Candy and Emily’s. There is a press release about the exhibit here and the website for the museum and historic society is here.

Sugar

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15889040037_86c4053a16_kThere is a tiny candy store named Sugar in the Proctor District at 3901 N. 27th St. . With about 72 square feet, the store is full of all kinds of unusual and vintage candy. Sugar, which opened in August 2010, also creates wedding and birthday favors.

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Update 4/2017: Sugar has been out of business for some time. Last I looked there was a lego store there.

Grandpa’s Soda Fountain and Ice Cream Parlor

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15236516533_6152cb9e3e_kGrandpa’s Soda Fountain and Ice Cream Parlor at 208 4th Avenue, Olympia is a fine place for a sweet treat. We had stopped in a while back only to learn that they are closed on Sundays, but today after a hoagie at Merconi’s and a little shopping, dear husband and I visited for some ice cream. I had a small Sundae and he had a cone. Grandpa’s have specialty hard packed ice cream, soft serve ice cream and delicious looking candies. We were the only customers for a while, which makes sense at 5 pm, but I hear that in the summer the line goes out the door. I especially appreciate the care that they took to make the space into an old fashioned parlor, the checkered floor tiles, the metal stamped ceiling, the seating and more. The other photo features the handmade glowing jellyfish hanging in a tree a few doors down.

 

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Boehm’s Candy

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BoehmsI was driving around Issaquah looking for something interesting and was pleasantly surprised at my choices — a root beer drive in, a restored vintage gas station, cute stores, etc. The day’s winner was Boehms Candy at 255 NE Gilman Blvd. Issaquah, WA 98027. The company began in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood in 1943 and in 1956 they moved to their current location. The store is located in the “Edelweiss Chalet”, the first Alpine chalet in the Northwest. In addition to the store and the candy manufacturing facility, there is a replica of a 12th century chapel near St. Moritz, a fountain, a statue of William Tell, a park area with a decorative fountain and an enthusiastic water fountain (water is life).

To order learn more about Boehms or to order candy, click here

It occurs to me that I know nothing about William Tell except he has a theme song. I learned he was a folk hero of Switzerland. Looking over Wikipedia, I remembered that he is know for shooting an apple off his son’s head.  The statue shows Tell and his son, Altdorf and is (I assume) a replica of the original statue by Richard Kissling in 1895.

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Harbor Greens

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8595716395_6a1c8beb28_bHarbor Greens at 2620 Bridgeport Way W. University Place WA 98466 opened on March 1, 2013. Really, its delightful store full of fresh, lovely produce and a great deli. There is also a large wine/beer selection, interesting candy, flowers/gardening supplies and sundry items. Oh, and the people working there were really nice! The original location is in Gig Harbor. Their Facebook page is here and their website is here.

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You Deserve a Treat at Great Northwest Popcorn

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Today I found myself back at the University of Washington Tacoma Branch and decided to celebrate finding an easy parking space with a treat. I had the chocolate dipped caramel and dear daughter went for the Monster Cookie (an Oreo dipped in caramel and then fudge). They owner was delightful and the candy selection was great. They also had ice cream and drinks. As befitting a store with the word popcorn in its name, they have an extensive variety of popcorn flavors including Bacon & Cheese, Cheddar, Caramel, Blue Raspberry, Butter Toffee, Butter Rum, Barbecue, Butterscotch, Cherry Vanilla, Chile Lime, Chipotle, English Toffee, Garlic & Parmesan, Green Apple, Honey Mustard, Hot ‘N Spicy, Hot-Cha-Cha, Huckleberry, Jalapeno Heat, Kettle Corn, Molasses, Peanut Butter, Peppermint, Pizza
Ragin Cajun, Ranch, Red Cinnamon, Red, White & Blue, Salt & Vinegar, Seattle Mix, Snickerdoodle, Sour Cream & Chives, South of the Border, Stuffed Potato, Tacoma Mix, Toasted Coconut, Tutti Frutti, White Cheddar, Root Beer Float, Dill Pickle, The Elvis Popcorn, 3 Star Thai, Berries & Cream, Caramel Apple, Chocolate Cocoa, Chocolate Caramel, Cookies & Cream, Cranberry Craving, Habanero Jelly, Peanut Butter Cup, S’Mores, Tiger Butter, Chocolate Coconut, Banana Nut, Caramel Almond, Coconut Cashew and Deluxe Caramel. That information is from there website.

Great Northwest Popcorn is located at 1948 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA, 98402-3110
www.greatnorthwestpopcorn.com/

Brown & Haley, Home of Almond Roca

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For Valentine’s Day I stopped at the Brown & Haley outlet at 110 East 26th Street, Tacoma, WA 98421 because my guy is fond of Almond Roca and he is always happy with a deal.  Actually, I already had his present, Night of the Living Trekies (see below) because nothing says love like zombies and Star Trek.

Brown & Haley has been in Tacoma incorporated in Tacoma in 1914. There most famous candy, Almond Roca, was invented in 1924.

Their website is https://www.brown-haley.com/index.php

Update: 3.12.2016 – Dear husband and I stopped in again (he still likes a deal!) and we learned that the outlet building was originally a ticket booth during the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. And Elvis was there! How cool is that? I added a picture of the plaque below.

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Yum! Sweets! Johnson’s Candy

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Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

In doing a little research about today’s new place of the day, I discovered that the company originally opened in 1918 as a small ice cream shop. The family owned business has a wonderful variety of candies including any kind of old fashioned chocolate that you could want. Their customer service is top notch and the place just has a comfortable feel about it. It is very much worth the trip!

The property is located at 924 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma; 253-272-8504.

An article on the business can be found at http://www.thenewstribune.com/2007/02/14/27359/a-candy-company-with-a-big-heart.html

To see how this property looked in 1993, go to http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/buildings/bldg1image.asp?j=1&o=1&n=29877&i=7846#text