Eat Like A Local

New York, New York

This Old-School Candy Shop In NYC Has Been A Local Mainstay For Nearly 90 Years By Kristen Pizzo Oct. 27, 2025 7:00 am EST

What began as a shoe and hat repair shop with a little candy cart outside during the Great Depression evolved to become NYC's longest-standing old-school candy shop. Manhattan's local Economy Candy might have the greatest business pivot story of all time. When the candy cart parked outside the Economy Shoe storefront started attracting more customers than the repair shop itself, the owner took the hint and followed the sweet success. He transformed the shop into Economy Candy in 1937, and the Cohen family took over after the end of World War II. Morris "Moishe" Cohen then passed the torch to his son, Jerry, and daughter-

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