Powell's Sweet Shoppe is an old-fashioned candy store filled with dreams come true for someone with a sweet tooth. There are two locations in Santa Clara County: on in Los Gatos on Santa Cruz Avenue and one in San Jose in Willow Glen.
Any candy you can want is here. Candy in bulk, individually wrapped, in containers, canisters, boxes, collectible tubes... in the back of the store is a section that looks like a concession stand in a movie theater, complete with movie candy in boxes.
Also in the back of the store are four movie theater chairs facing a screen that is perpetually showing Willy Wonka.
Giant cutouts and replicas of old-fashioned candies adorn the walls, and Candy Land board games from over the years hang on the walls. Swivel stands are full of colorful lollipops and endless buckets of assorted candies tempt anyone walking by.
I made with a pretty good haul: pink popcorn, a lollipop, three Pez dispensers, an Oh Henry bar, and two candy-flavored lip balms, and an Abba Zaba. While there was a good assortment of Harry Potter candy, I passed. I already tried the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and they are nasty. I'm sure a chocolate frog tastes okay, but I have had my fill of choclate. And something I have never seen before: a candy cockroach. It gave me the shivers. I'm sure the Blood Pops taste good, but I already picked out a foot-shaped lollipop.
