Sweet! Promises All Candy, All the Time

It's almost impossible to walk into Sweet! – the new candy store in downtown Basking Ridge – without developing a sweet tooth of your own.

The store's walls are lined with just about every type of candy you can imagine, from newer treats that are popular with today's youth, like toxic waste, a drum filled with hard candies that promise to be "hazardously" sour, to the classic candies like Oh Henry!, Clark bars or Charleston Chews.

Basking Ridge resident Jen Aaron and long-time friend Kristen Hassett opened the store on 46 South Finley Ave on April 1. Aaron said she and Hassett have been friends since fifth grade in Warren Township, and while traveling on vacation, the two had the idea of opening up a candy shop in Basking Ridge.

"We saw a store similar to this is Nantucket four years ago called "The Candy Room" when our two families were vacationing together," Aaron said. "We have six kids between us, I have four, and my partner has two. [And] the kids wanted to go back there 10 times a day. It was very simple like this, low prices, bare basics and nothing fancy."

The store is open Tuesday - Friday from 12 - 5:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. The candy selection is wide and varied, including candy bars, hard candy, gum (including yardstick bubble gum, literally one yard long) and an assortment of other sugary treats. Two giant M&M figures patrol either side of a sofa in the back corner of the store where customers can lounge and take advantage of the free wi-fi.

In the center of the store, the owners have an assortment of individually wrapped candies; customers can pick up any 10 pieces for a dollar. And Sweet! also offers pre-packaged candy collections in different sizes, some small for party favors and others filled to the brim of a salad bowl.

Aaron's favorite candy is Whoppers, and whether you developed your first sweet tooth this century or last, chances are your favorite candy will be there too.