Berkeley’s Sweet Dreams candy shop is closing its doors for good in January, after more than half a century in business, as first reported by Berkeleyside. In a world geared towards Amazon shopping and drug store candy, the Elmwood shop is a time capsule: an old-school store with candies priced by the quarter- and half-pound. The store’s wooden shelves are lined with glass jars of chocolates, gummies and hard candies. Gary Gendel opened Sweet Dreams’ first location on College Ave. in 1971.
In the 1990s, Sweet Dreams even witnessed the high point of the Beanie Baby craze, with the owner shutting down the store and limiting access to three shoppers at a time. Gendel died in August. The Sweet Dreams Toy Store closed only a few weeks before. His wife Lucia Gendel took over Sweet Dreams, moving the toy store’s remaining inventory into the original sweet shop.