Manzanita is one of my favorite beach towns on the Oregon Coast, and though it isn’t very big, it has some of the best shops you’ll find up and down the state. Anytime I’m here I take a leisurely stroll down the main drag (Laneda Ave) and pop in and out of my favorite coffee shop, home goods store, clothing shop, and always into the adorable Manzanita Sweets. The shop, like the town itself, is small and charming and jam-packed with so much candy you’ll wonder how they got it all in there!
Aprilmarie Ekstrom is the owner of Manzanita Sweets and you’ll find her there nearly every day greeting customers and eager to talk about all things sweet! She also owns the toy store next door, Toylandia, that’s been open now for ten years. And I know what you’re thinking—it’s like every kid’s dream come true to own a candy store and a toy store! Both April and her knowledgeable staff like to have fun here and it shows the minute you step inside.
The whole store is bursting with color and everywhere you look there’s a different type of candy from hand-made chocolate truffles, hard candies, gummies, taffy, chocolate seafoam (made with the perfect honey wafer covered in smooth chocolate), fudge that’s so decadent you won’t believe it, retro candy, and throughout you’ll find both high-end “fancy” candy and the less expensive stuff that you adored as a child. They have cute little baskets you can take around the store filling them up with way too much sugar.
My favorite part of the store, aside from the dark chocolate truffles, is the large variety they have of old school candy bars (at least old school for me) like Abba-Zabba, Black Cow, “Doctor’s Choice” candy cigarettes, and Big League Chew. They also try to showcase as much Oregon-made candy as they can in the store so in addition to the confections they make in house you’ll also find sensational local products like Moonstruck Chocolates.
The store also goes all out for the holidays, decorating the shop and making unique candies for the season. During Christmas the store is decked out with candy canes, Santas, and peppermint, and for Halloween you’ll find ghoulish candies with skulls, ghosts, pumpkins, coffins boxes of chocolates, and Dia de los Muertos decorated chocolates and sugar candies. Don’t forget to stock up for Valentine’s Day and Easter too!
Manzanita Sweets has such a wide variety of candy, I literally can’t think of anything they don’t have here. Stop by the next time you’re at the coast and give into your sweet tooth. You won’t regret it!
Hours:
- Friday and Saturday, 11:00am - 5:00pm
- Sunday and Monday, 11:00am - 4:00pm
Address: 310 Laneda Ave, Manzanita
Phone: (503) 368-3792
