Amusing the Zillion

Williams Candy Moves Next Door During Post-Sandy Renovation

February 15, 2013 by Tricia

Vernacular Signage for Williams Candy, Coney Island. December 6, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

Williams Candy on Surf Avenue next to Nathan’s was one of the first Coney Island businesses to reopen after Sandy. The Mom-and-Pop candy shop owned by Peter Agrapides is open year-round and also has a mail order business. Winter hours are 11 am till 5 pm. When we went by on November 17th, they had cotton candy, candy apples and all of our favorite marshmallow-on-a-stick treats in the window. Try the one with the chocolate sprinkles!

But you’ll have to go next door to the dining room of Pete’s Clam Stop to find the candy treats. This week Williams Candy began a month-long, post-Sandy renovation. The interior was gutted and everything will be brand-new at 1318 Surf Avenue in time for Coney Island’s Opening Day, which is March 24th this year.

Williams Candy on Surf Avenue in Coney Island. November 17, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita

Photo of the Day: Lettering Saved from Demolished Arcade

February 14, 2013 by Tricia

Remaining Playland Letters Saved by the Coney Island History Project. February 14, 2013. Photo © Coney Island History Project

The demolition of Coney Island’s Playland Arcade got underway in October, but was interrupted by Sandy. The job was finished today. It’s gone!

Charles Denson of the Coney Island History Project managed to save the remaining letters on the facade– L, N and D– and several of the whimsical yet deteriorating murals. “Our previous efforts at preservation were hampered by trespassers, vandals, black mold, the untimely death of Playland’s caretaker, Andy Badalamenti, as well as Superstorm Sandy,” according to a photo album on the History Project’s Facebook page. The artifacts will be exhibited this season.

An arcade existed in the Playland building from the 1930s until 1981, operated by four sets of brothers over a fifty year period. In 1981 the arcade machines were auctioned and the business closed, leaving Playland vacant for the past thirty years.

Thor’s Coney Island: Candy Retailer It’Sugar to Open Surf Ave Store

February 13, 2013 by Tricia

Coming to Coney: Candy and Gift Retailer It’Sugar. This store is on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

In 2011, Thor Equities put up new signage atop the blue construction fence at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues, the gateway to Coney’s beach and Boardwalk amusement parks: “CONEY ISLAND – The RETAIL RIDE of a LIFETIME.” After eight years of real estate speculation and the rezoning of Coney, Thor CEO Joe Sitt’s retail ride finally begins this season. ATZ has learned exclusively from sources that candy retailer It’Sugar will be the first tenant at Thor’s new building at Surf and Stillwell. The plywood has come down from the boarded-up new building, which was completed last January, and interior construction of the corner store is underway for a May 3rd opening of It’Sugar Coney Island.

Exiting Stillwell Terminal in the new Coney Island, the first sight one sees is Thor Equities generic looking new building. January 29, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The Florida-based company was founded in 2006 and is “one of the largest and fastest growing specialty candy and gift retailers in the world with over 70 retail locations,” according to one of their press releases. ATZ went to the It’Sugar store on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to check it out.

The place is pink ‘n’ yellow with a sparkly garnet floor and the music is blaring. It’s impossible not to smile at the sight of a supersized, one pound pack of Reese’s peanut butter cups and a one pound Hershey’s chocolate bar paired for Valentine’s Day until you look at the price tag — $40. There’s also a kiosk of old school candy like Necco Wafers and Goo Goo Clusters, jewelry that looks like sweets, T-shirts and novelty items.

Among the candy retailer’s other locations are the Atlantic City Boardwalk, San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Universal Citywalk in California and malls from Alabama to the United Arab Emirates. There are also 22 “shops in shops” in Macy’s including Herald Square and such New York City tourist destinations as Madame Tussaud’s and Radio City Music Hall.

The upscale candy store will be the first sight visitors see when they exit Stillwell Terminal and will open in a Coney Island that is rapidly changing. Three national franchises– Applebee’s, Johnny Rockets and Red Mango–have signed leases for the north side of Surf Avenue, on property not owned by Thor. If you’re a regular reader of ATZ, you’ll know we’re not a fan of the plan to “revitalize” Coney Island by bringing in formula businesses and franchises. As we’ve written previously: Coney Island, the birthplace of the hot dog, the roller coaster, and the enclosed amusement park is famous for its quirky authenticity, but it’s about to look and taste more like Anyplace USA.