This store is the kind of place that makes it worth going down and fighting through the traffic and the lack of parking and everything.
On our most recent trip up to Kalamazoo, we decided to try our luck downtown just to come and find this place. We heard it had a lot of old sodas and candies and imported stuff, and, well... it sounded like a good blast from both of our pasts, and we had a bit with nothing really to do. So off we went to the Kalamazoo Mall, and the luck was with us as we managed to somehow find a parking space. A bit of walking, and we came across one of the most interesting windows we've seen in a while...
As we walked in, the first thing you really see is the side wall. That's where both the absolute crazy selections of saltwater taffy and their huge selection of niche, regional and retro soda are.
I strongly think this place has every single flavor of taffy possible, and then some. I didn't really get a chance to look, but considering the taffy bins take up a huge part of the wall makes me wonder if anyone's ever counted or even tasted every single flavor they have.
But the draw for us today? The regional/niche soda selection.
It's fairly well known that there are certain soda brands outside of the majors (Coke/Pepsi/RC, etc.) that you just can't get in all areas of the country- stuff like Faygo, for example. While we can go and chug all the Rock'n'Rye and Red Pop we like, our friends over in places like Iowa and Florida can't, much like we can't seem to find stuff that they have by the barrelful down there but we can't up here.
Me? I'm a nut for a good root beer, and a good ginger ale- as well as cool-looking labels. So, of course, I went with the six-pack. I'm hoping to get a bigger selection for my birthday- they offer packages of twelve, and I think even up to 20 different bottles. Not to mention all of the novelty sodas they manage to stock, too. No, I wasn't courageous enough to try corn or dirt soda. I don't think I ever will be.
If you're in the mood for a snack, though, this place also stocks a lot of new and retro candy- and you can even find grab bags of stuff for a discount. I picked up some Austrian wafer cookies with different fillings, and they were good- but not a lot of the candy/cookies are marked, so... be prepared to drop a bit more than you might think. It's still a really good value, though!
If you like, they also sell a bit of art and some other things- we saw some funny tin signs up on the wall, and maybe one or two of them might find their way home with me sometime.
We're going to be back, of course- it just might take a while because of all the parking difficulties! read more