A candy wall, built one jar at a time
Sunny Guide started as a single folding table at the Penn Avenue farmers market, with three jars of taffy and a hand-written price sign. Nine years later, we're still choosing every candy by hand.
How we got here
The short version of a nine-year story.
A market table
Three jars of saltwater taffy and a cash box, set up every Saturday.
First storefront
A 400-square-foot space on Penn Avenue, with room for a real candy wall.
Doubled the wall
Expanded next door, tripling our bins and adding chocolate and caramel.
180+ candies
Today's wall, still chosen jar by jar by the same two people who started it.
Every candy earns its spot
We taste-test everything before it goes on the wall. If it doesn't hold up against what's already there, it doesn't make the cut — no matter how well it sells elsewhere.
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We taste before we buy
New candy gets sampled by the whole staff before it's ever ordered for the shop.
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We favor small confectioners
Most of our wall comes from family-run candy makers, not national brands.
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We rotate what isn't working
If something sits too long, it's replaced — the wall stays fresh, not just full.
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We ask what you're missing
Half our new arrivals started as a customer asking why we didn't carry something.
What we believe about candy
A few things we hold onto, even as the wall keeps growing.
It should be a treat, not a compromise
We'd rather stock fewer candies we love than pad the wall with filler.
The counter is part of the experience
Ask questions, ask for a sample — that's what we're there for.
Neighborhood shops matter
We buy local where we can, and we try to be a shop worth walking to.
Meet the wall in person
Nine years of taste-testing, all on one wall on Penn Avenue.