Dylan’s Candy Bar Is Now Open In Union Square
When Dylan Lauren opened her first Dylan's Candy Bar in 2001 on the Upper East Side, the concept–a million kinds of brightly-colored candy presented in cute and highly-consumable ways–proved to be an instant hit among both tourists and local tween-birthday-goers alike, and spawned outposts in cities and resorts (and airports) across the country, in places like Chicago, Los Angeles, Telluride, and Mohegan Sun. Lauren's temple of sweets also paved the way for imitators such as It'Sugar, which now has at least eight locations in the city in just the three years since its first crazy-house of candy landed on the Upper West Side. Who knew people needed so much candy? Anyway, Lauren (who, yes, is the daughter of Ralph, in case you never made the connection) just this week expanded in Manhattan beyond her UES megastores with a self-described "boutique" Dylan's Candy right in the heart of Union Square. And though its window and signage lack the peppy pizzazz you might expect, once you get inside there is no shortage of shrieking-loud displays and an insane variety of ALL the sweet stuff.
Exploring The Candy Cave
The new Dylan's Candy may be more boutique than Lauren's three-story flagship, but at more than 3,300 square feet, the place is hardly small. Up towards the front there's a whole coffee-bar operation with baked goods and breakfast pastries from local purveyors like Amy's and Bakehouse. Right next to that is the Dylan's Candy Ice Cream Parlor, which has (frankly pretty mediocre) frozen delights is flavors both traditional and wacky (the mint chip is bright blue because that's Dylan's favorite color). And as you continue your stroll through the store you hit the Fudge counter, with varieties like Salted Dark Chocolate, Dulce de Leche, and PB&J. This is probably the most baffling part of the store, because who eats fudge except when you're nine years old and on vacation in, like, Cape Cod? But of course you don't really come to Dylan's for coffee or fudge… you come to Dylan's for CANDY, and man is there plenty of that here.
Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth
There's already a Halloween-themed section in place, and tons (and tons!) of pre-packaged candy from every brand you've ever heard of and probably (hopefully?) some that you haven't. The "nostalgia" area has the best stuff in the store, in my opinion as a candy elder, but there's a million things for today's ten year olds too, including a whole emoji line of novelties. But by far the most popular method of candy-shopping at Dylan's is to make your own treat bag at the several by-the-pound stations, one of which is sorted by color, another of which features endless bins of different gummi animals and objects. That this is both the most fun and the most expensive way to do things here is probably not unrelated. It seems unlikely that Dylan's will expand much beyond its tourist/birthday-party core with this new Union Square boutique, but given the crowds already here on day two, that also seems like it will plenty.
Directions and More Information on Dylan's Candy Bar Union Square
Dylan's Candy Bar Union Square is located at 33 Union Square West between 16th and 17th Streets and is open on Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., on Friday and Saturday until 11:00 p.m., and on Sunday it's open until 9:00.
Posted in Downtown, manhattan living, NYC Dining | Tagged dylan's candy • September • Union Square
