LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA – When you walk into the iconic candy shop on Mount Diablo Boulevard in downtown Lafayette, California, it feels like venturing into the fever dream of a four-year-old.
Every surface of the large store is covered in candy. There are Jelly Bellies along the wall, giant bins of candy in the middle, trendy social media-inspired candy by the register—in short, candy everywhere!
This paradise for Bay Area sweet tooths is Zoonie’s. For years, Zoonie’s has been serving candies of all varieties to the Lafayette community.
There are plenty of candy stores in the Bay Area that are extremely fancy. Danville Chocolates offers lots of upscale chocolate—it’s perfect for corporate or personal gifts. Places like Dandelion in the city mill and cure their own cacao for bespoke chocolate bars.
Zoonie’s does have a counter section with truffles and fancier fare, but that’s really not the vibe here.
Instead, this is a candy store squarely aimed at kids—and those who would like to recapture a little bit of the candy emporiums you remember from your youth.
Zoonie’s focuses on colorful displays, a whimsical environment, and an absolutely mind-boggling sheer quantity of candy.
Each section of the store is loosely themed around a particular type of candy. In the middle, you’ll find big bins of traditional candies like saltwater taffy, Gobstoppers, and Nerds.
The walls are completely lined with a bulk candy section where you can fill little plastic bags and pay by the pound—just like you remember from childhood.
Little has changed in this section since the ’70s or ’80s, and in some cases, the ’30s!
Those strange little wax soda bottles with colorful liquid inside? They’ve got them! Licorice drops covered in inexplicable little crunchy sprinkles? They’re here!
The bulk candy section includes all kinds of gummy worms, gummy bears, sour items, and other bulk candy that your kids can shovel into a bag by the scoopful.
This being the Bay Area—with the Jelly Belly factory a short drive away—there’s also a large section where you can fill up on all different kinds of Jelly Belly beans.
In the back of the store, you’ll find a giant section devoted to movie theater candy, complete with a television showing classic movies.
There’s also a nostalgic section with recreated candies from the ’50s and ’60s.
For the social media generation, you’ll find TikTok sensations like full gummy sushi sets, gummy pizzas, gigantic gummy worms or gummy bears, and even freeze-dried Jolly Ranchers and other treats your kids may have discovered online.
Towards the counter, you’ll find fancier truffles and boxed chocolates. There’s also a very kid-oriented gelato section. Middle schoolers seem to love stopping by to grab this very sweet, colorful gelato.
Throughout the store, you’ll find little bits of humor mixed in with the chocolates.
A glass case on the wall has a plaque reading “In case of emergency break glass” Inside is a single Hershey’s bar.
The end result is a store that feels youthful and joyous. The formality of some other candy stores—and the high prices of corporate places like Sugarfina, with their clinical little cube-shaped candy boxes—are nowhere to be found here.
There are sugar-free and healthier selections, but really, this place is an unashamed celebration of processed sugar, food dye, and all the things you didn’t know enough to care about as a kid.
Unsurprisingly, Zoonie’s is popular with kids. As a special treat—perhaps for getting a great report card or finishing a sports season—I’ll take my kids there to browse and choose whatever they want.
Zoonie’s even hosts candy parties where you can grab items from around the store.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive gift, gift bags from Zoonie’s are also a great bet. Their selection is so broad that you can find something to appeal to pretty much any candy lover.
In an era and a place where so much food is taken so seriously, it’s refreshing to see a place like Zoonie’s that’s chaotic, joyful, and nostalgic.
Stop by and visit them at 3591 Mount Diablo Blvd, Lafayette, CA 94549
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