Edina Candy Shop Goes Down the Rabbit Hole

Curiouser and curiouser. On Aug. 2, 1865, Lewis Carroll published the famed childhood favorite Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. 146 years later, a storybook of a sweetshop, Alix in Candyland opens in Edina.

Across from —steps away from 50th & France—and in a space that was most recently a construction and interior design office, now sits the colorful inspiration of two women who love sweets.

Alix Noonan, a 2010 graduate of St. Thomas who studied business and marketing, originally had her sights set on graduate school. But a discussion at dinner with a good friend’s mother over the holidays sent her in a different direction—to a storybook candy shop in her own hometown. 

Noonan and Lynn Evinger have known each other since Alix was in the second grade and made friends with Evinger’s daughter. Today, Evinger’s daughter lives in Manhattan, where there’s no shortage of neighborhood candy shops. 

“We were talking and I said, ‘You know, Edina doesn’t have a really fun candy store,'” co-owner Evinger said. 

Starting today, it does. 

After a soft open for friends and family Sunday evening, Alix in Candyland is officially open to the public today, which means it’s time to try one of the shop’s 70 varieties of gummies, 14 kinds of malted milk balls or perhaps chocolate-covered licorice. One wall is reserved for candies from around the world; nearby, there is a retro candy section.

It’s a veritable sugary wonderland. Beyond candy, the shop offers a selection of gifts and one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces as well.

“I’m hoping people will see us as more than just a candy store and come for birthday, housewarming or hostess gifts,” Evinger said. 

With an Alice in Wonderland-themed shop stocked to the brim with candies and decorated with custom-designed theater props, Evinger and Noonan took a leap down the rabbit hole—if you will—into a shop all their own. 

There is a display of teetering teacups in the window, a larger than life rabbit at the entrance and glittering mushroom canopy over a rainbow of gummy treats in the main room. The women of Candyland have created what Noonan said she loved best about Alice in Wonderland, “how it is another world, an escape from reality.” 

Initially Evinger and Noonan wanted to open their candy shop at 50th & France, but Alix Noonan’s father—Edward Noonan of Noonan Construction—presented the available space at his offices just four blocks away as an option. Alix in Candyland opens today at 5400 France Avenue; Noonan Construction remains in the far side of the building.

As for their 50th & France aspirations, Evinger said it worked out for the best, as they are members of the 50th & France Business Association but also have their own parking lot with additional space for bike and stroller parking and an oversized water dish for dogs.  

“We are thrilled to have a fun and whimsical candy store in the neighborhood,” Rachel Hubbard, executive director of the 50th & France Business Association, said. “This unique store brings people to the area because it is different. That is what 50th & France is, a unique small businesses node where you can find something different.”  

Noonan studied business during an unsteady economic time, where it’s difficult for recent graduates to find jobs, let alone open businesses. But for her part, Noonan sees the teacup as half full. 

“It’d be crazy to not have worries,” Noonan said. “We’ve run into issues and situations all along the way, but if it swings one way it’s going to come back. I stay optimistic. It starts with small things—like a piece of candy.”

Don’t be late for Alix in Candyland’s very important date. The candy shop will hold a grand opening celebration at 4 p.m. next Tuesday, Aug. 9, with hotdogs, lemonade, music and face painting. The store is open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sundays.