I must give a shout-out to AAA Missouri’s Lori Moshkowsky for cluing me in to Crown Candy Kitchen. It was one of several suggestions she gave me for cool, under-the-radar things to check out on my first visit to St. Louis. Busch Stadium, the Arch, Forest Park—yep, I’m familiar with them. Most people are. I had never heard of Crown Candy Kitchen, but Lori assured me it would make a great blog.

     To be honest, I expected some kind of candy store. My head was filled with visions of shelves lined with big glass jars of gumballs, candy corn, sticks of red licorice … and since my sweet tooth leans more toward cinnamon buns and pastries than it does candy, I figured this would be a quick pop in, take a look around and pop out. Wrong.

Crown Candy Kitchen has occupied the same space since 1913—a small brick building at the corner of St. Louis Avenue and 14th Street in a neighborhood (the “Old North St. Louis Historic District”) that is in the midst of urban redevelopment. My friend and I pulled up and parked on a side street. Five minutes before opening time on a Monday morning, and a small group of people stood chatting on the sidewalk, waiting to get in. Was this a sign that I had stumbled on a beloved local favorite?

A man unlocked the door and offered us a hearty “Howdy, folks!” We filed in, and the first thing I noticed was the vintage Rockola jukebox standing in the middle of the floor. Crown Candy Kitchen is not a candy store but rather a classic soda fountain. The small room is absolutely crammed with stuff, from old photographs on the walls to the ’50s memorabilia and Coca-Cola collectibles that occupy every available bit of space. As we slid into a white wood booth with a Formica tabletop I congratulated myself for deciding to come early, since the 15 or so booths were rapidly filling up.

After placing our orders (a turkey sandwich for me, an egg salad sandwich for my friend) I went over to check out the display of sweets. Crown Candy Kitchen was opened by two Greeks—Harry Karandzieff and his best friend Pete Jugaloff—and they brought their confectionary skills across the pond with them. The kitchen makes its own milk chocolate caramels, chocolate-covered cherries, dark chocolate non-pareils and chocolate nut clusters (peanut, pecan, cashew, almond, walnut, Brazil nut and macadamia). The display of old-fashioned penny candy took me waaaaay back to my childhood and trips to the corner drugstore to buy chewable wax lips, my favorite. But enough nostalgia; let’s eat.

My turkey sandwich (which I asked for sans Miracle Whip) was perfectly fine, and my friend pronounced his egg salad sandwich delicious (it definitely had that homemade look). And when our cheerful waitress inquired “Are we having dessert?” the only response was “Absolutely!” This is, after all, a soda fountain.

We shared a sundae, two scoops of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce and chopped pecans served in a tall glass. If I had to pick one word to describe it, “scrumptious” would do. The ice cream is made in the shop, and flavorings are blended in an antique copper candy kettle. The homemade taste was outstanding without being overly rich and decadent. Rich and decadent would be the French sundae: strawberry, pineapple and marshmallow sauces ladled over two scoops of ice cream surrounded by sliced bananas, topped with whipped cream, crushed toasted cashews, chocolate sprinkles and a cherry. They’d have to roll me out on a stretcher if I tackled that.

We left before noon and the line for a booth was out the door—moms with kids, construction and office workers, a couple of elderly gents. I really like this place. Darned if Lori wasn’t right on the money.

Crown Candy Kitchen is open Mon.-Thurs. 10:30-8, Fri.-Sat. 10:30-10, Sun. 11-6.