Okay, we’re kind of cheating on this one — Junior Mints are currently produced by Tootsie Roll Industries (originally from New York City, now in Chicago) and were born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but it all started on Broadway. Still there? Hear us out.
Sometime between 1941 and 1943, candy-maker James Welch saw the famed play Junior Miss, adapted from a collection of New Yorker stories by the same name. In 1949, the show became a film and radio series, and Welch marketed little mints as a pun on his favorite play. Which explains their original tie to the concession stand. So though the label may say Chicago, they’re all New York — and as our beloved New York City neighbor Kramer once said, “They’re very refreshing!” too. Can’t argue with that. (And they’re not too shabby a post-Halloween candy swap for the kids, either.)
This week, we’re looking at some standby Halloween candies with a New York past. After researching 40+ candies — alive and dead — we were saddened to learn we have no stake on Baby Ruth or the 5th Avenue bar, but we think we’ve found some goodies that’ll keep you in local spirits this season.
