Review Visit: September 17th, 2014 Sugar. Spice. Everything nice. Like in a lot of smaller towns, you'll usually have or find a business that deals in candy. Sugary confections. Sweet treats. Candy from yesteryears. Soda (pop) in more varieties than you care for it to come in. Things you think you'd never see again and things you fall in love with. Holland's Mercantile fills that role for Washington, IL. My friend Matt and I decided to spend an afternoon exploring the Washington Square to see what the town and it's folk offered. The words on the front of the store's glass got me excited at the possibilities held inside. As we opened the door and headed in, the excitement increased tenfold. It was like being a kid in a candy store. Except that we are adults... in a candy store. Upon entering, I first noticed the long row of candy in the glass containers where you can scoop out as much as you want. Lining the walls were a million different candy from a million different times and cultures. I saw things I hadn't seen in years. They had stuff I didn't think existed in time where color TV is the norm. On top of the candy, they also had a display case full of baked goods. Whether these are made in-house or from a local bakery, I am not sure. Either way, the stuff looked fantastic behind the glass. Turtles. Truffles. Caramel Bars. It all looked so good that I think my blood sugar level elevated just looking at the offerings. This store has more than just candy, baked goodies, and sweets from everyone's childhood. They also had the novelty toys from the same time period the candy/sweets come from. There were novelty toys that tied in to current day trends but they also had toys that kids from our time would enjoy just as much as kids from the time from which they came. I also think there was a back room that was full of a combination of everything the store offered. On this day, I let my inner child run wild and I picked up a small sack full of candy. I didn't want to get too much because I don't have the best self-control when it comes to my sweet tooth. Next door is another Holland's store that offers up popcorn in many different flavors and even more soda to pick from. This store did remind me of the candy store from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, minus the Candy Man tossing candy to and fro. Though that would've been quite the sight to see. The store just has this feeling of being a great place to get your sweet tooth fix while reliving items from your childhood and also your parent's childhood. I will end this with a warning. If you have kids and bring them here... expect to drop a lot of money on sweets and toys. It's easy to spend a small fortune in a place like this. Also, don't let your kids see Holland's Caramelcorn next door. They might get loaded up on sugar and then get popcorn cheese everywhere. How sweet it is. read more

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The best variety of popcorn indulgence is waiting for you at Hollands. It is hands down better than Garrett's! I make trips to central Illinois, and this is one of my must do stops! read more

Such a fun candy store! A huge variety of sweets to choose from and the old-fashioned ambiance makes the experience feel special. We always make a stop at Holland's when visiting Washington! read more

Nice candy selection in a shop with a nice nostalgic general store feel. You can find some candies that give you a blast from the past nestled among new favorites. There is a small amount of seating and they serve phosphates! read more

You name it, they have it. In addition to their huge selection of all kinds of candy, including the nostalgic goodies, you have to try their shaved ice, milk shakes, phosphates and floats. The store is just like an old time general store, complete with a soda fountain counter and wood floors! Located right in the center of the Washington Square, this place is a gem! The employees are so cheerful and helpful, and we always feel like kids again when we visit. This place is worth your time! read more

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is this a candy store or something else? if they serve anything else then they market very poorley. good service though they are usually always nice read more

We visited Hollands Mercantile on a very busy Saturday and as usual, enjoyed our experience. We know not to expect individual attention because of the mostly self service nature of the store, and the fact that many of the employees are teens working part time jobs, again, in a very busy atmosphere. We love the assortment of traditional and modern candies, and we dont have a complaint about the prices because shopping at Hollands is a treat, and we only buy small portions of our very favorite candies. Hollands Mercantile is a nice reminder of the old grocery store experience! read more

Somewhat decent candy selection but ZERO customer service. I've never felt so unwelcome walking into a store in my life. Yesterday was the last straw. The young guy who worked there acted like he would rather be having root canal. A simple "hello" would have been nice. Anyone can have a bad day and I understand that, but this was not the first time. We've gone there a handful of times in the last few years and have always been met with indifference. I should point out that I am only talking about the candy store. There is a place two doors down that sells caramel corn that is also called Holland's. I don't know if it owned by the same people or not, but the experience there is the opposite. read more

Wait. Shouldn't a candy store be the happiest place on earth? I was so excited to finally have a day off to visit Holland's for the first time, because they close at 5pm on weekdays and are not open on Sundays. For what should be a happy candy store, this place felt like sadness. The young girl behind the counter seemed in a rush to get us out of there, even though it was in the middle of the day, nowhere near closing time, and there were no other customers in the store. It was weird. Then, she handed off our order to a young male worker, and he made the wrong milkshake. Oh well. We didn't mention it. He was busy talking about how he was putting in job applications elsewhere. Very awkward. I couldn't wait to finish up our food to get out of there. I was practically wriggling in my seat. I just felt... unwelcome. The candy selection was nice. It was amusing to browse through the toy store, although I would have been happier if that entire back room was filled with more candy instead of toys! There wasn't much specialty chocolate, surprisingly. They did, however, have a lot of nostalgic wrapper candies, and that was fun to see. The menu was a bit smaller than I was expecting. There wasn't a huge amount of variety, only 4-5 ice cream flavors, sodas, milkshakes, hot dog, pretzel, popcorn. I can appreciate the old general store feel, but I think they could do a little more to make the place modern. Blasts from the past are great, but the modern shopper expects more variety. There was nothing in Holland's that would draw me to come back. read more

Great old fashioned candy store. All the store on the square are really great. My kids love to go to Holland's after school.

A great candy store! I have been coming here for years, and taking my kids here. This is a deep seated childhood memory for most people who live in Washington. They serve food also, just little snacks. You can sit down and eat nachos and have a peach smoothie. Which I highly recommend at any age! read more