FOR THE LOVE OF LOLLIES
WORDS BY ALICE KING
Who said lollies are just for kids? Join Forkful contributor Alice King on a tour of Melbourne’s favourite lolly shops to find out what’s hot, what’s not, what’s still considered classic lolly fare and where you can get your next fix.
I was sitting on a tram with a friend, discussing our memories of the lollies sold at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat. It’s the gaudy, gold-rush era ‘open air museum’ about an hour and a half out of Melbourne—the typical Ballarat student, such as we once were, could probably recount at least a dozen visits here. The horse-heads. The red, translucent horse-heads are probably the cheapest things you can buy. Lollipops shaped like a horse’s head that your school teacher would hand out. You’d suck them down until they were sharp as shanks on the tongue. The real deal, of course, is the hard-boiled raspberry drops. Everyone buys the raspberry drops. If you stand in the Sovereign Hill shop on a weekday, it’ll be crowded with school kids buying them by the bagful. There’s also always jars of the ‘mixed boils,’ in case you visit Brown’s Confectionary and feel too overwhelmed.
You have a lot of memories like that.
***
The Biggest Lollie Shop in the World is located in Broadmeadows, not far from Melbourne Airport. It’s a warehouse with rows of shelves and tables filled with products. The smell is strong; sweetness combined with plastic and cardboard. One of the staff members tells me that the store has been there for twenty-two years. The faded, weathered signs out the front are a clear indication of the place’s age.
I visit on a Monday morning and there’s a couple of other customers. One lady is stockpiling Red Tulip chocolate eggs into a basket. ‘We’re busy all year round, Easter especially,’ that same staff member tells me. She’s not completely certain, but she thinks the most popular item is the raspberry liquorice twists. Most of their stock comes from Australia or New Zealand, although I spot international items scattered here and there. You can buy stacks of German stroopwafels—flat wafer biscuits patterned like waffles. You can also buy sachets of the American product Kool Aid—a powdery mix used to sweeten and add flavour to water. Aside from lollies, the store sells nuts by the kilo, giftwares, toys and party supplies. There’s a table with huge packages of single-coloured jelly beans. Small silver scoops you can buy separately sit beneath, for buffets I presume.
I buy a box of Nerds, just for the fun of it.
Lolly buffets at parties and weddings seem to be a rising trend. Jellies and chocolate beans are sold by the kilo especially for events like these. It’s nostalgically uplifting to think that even into adulthood you can leave a party with a small bag of lollies. I recall filling Happy Feet branded bags for my ninth birthday party. I think I bought Swizzle Fizzers, fun-size Mars Bars and cheaply- made miniature water pistols. Or were they Happy Feet lollies, not bags? Or both? I’m sure they were bags. At the time, filling ten or so plastic bags with assorted junk felt like a genuine chore. To be fair, kids had austere standards for party favour bags. Getting a sub-par lolly bag, oh the humanity. The Happy Feet lollies were cola- flavoured, I think, and I sat on the carpet filling the bags. Occasionally I’d steal a few to eat myself; it was worth getting scolded for.
Sugar Station has various retail shops around Melbourne, including four in the CBD, one in Heidelberg and one at the Highpoint Shopping Centre. The latter also sells popcorn, in case you’re going to the nearby Hoyts and don’t want to empty your pockets for snacks. I went to both locations at Southern Cross Station in the Docklands. One store downstairs, the other upstairs. They’re colourful and brightly lit; you can recognise them without even seeing the sign.
The most prominent feature of Sugar Station is also their most popular; large colourful box dispensers of lollies produced all over the world. It’s like being submerged in a rainbow. There are strawberry clouds, malt balls, candy corn … all you want to do is put your hand in and stuff your face. A worker on the Collins Street level informs me that their raspberry liquorice twists are the most favoured from the dispensers. From their international range, it’s the big packs of Cheetos. They’re those long Amercian corn snacks, kind of like Twisties. They’re busiest in the school holidays when kids are able to frequent the stores, but on any other weekday they’ll be hustling between 3pm to 6pm.
Sometimes as a teen, I’d buy a box of Nerds and finish it while watching The X-Files. It was a regular Saturday thing. The box that I bought from The Biggest Lollie Shop in the world took longer, a few days in fact, to empty. And a big sugary headache followed. The sweet aftertaste is like acid; I drank a litre of water to get over it. It’s one of those subtle reminders. Lollies are often marketed and branded with one idea in mind: fun. You think, ‘isn’t it cool that inside a Kinder Surprise there’s a cheap piece of plastic that I have to assemble myself?’ The last time I bought a Kinder Surprise I completely forgot about the toy. Another subtle reminder. Most commercial lollies come with a ‘Be Treatwise’ warning on the package; an initiative from the United Kingdom to encourage healthy portioning. Basically: ‘Don’t eat a whole bag of jelly beans, you absolute pig!’ So, yeah, eating lollies as an adult can be an unpleasant experience. A mirror, really. Don’t let that stop you, though.
The Original Lolly Shop, with locations in Melbourne Emporium and Carlton, is a staple. Upper tier. Their stores have a gorgeous red interior, delightfully arranged shelves. It’s busiest here on a Friday night; full of people wanting something sweet after a dinner out. Like The Biggest Lollie Shop and Sugar Station, their best sellers are the raspberry liquorice twists. They’re not too sweet, economical and easy to eat, so I see the appeal.
At the entrance to The Original Lolly Shop are trays of Jelly Belly beans and I’m tempted to buy a kilo or two. As a huge Jelly Belly fan, it’s hard to decide on a favourite flavour. It’s definitely between peach and cherry. There’re also pre-packaged lines like their sour, smoothie blend and tropical mixes. The sherbet dispensers at the back of the store are presented via huge tubes, the kind usually seen at markets or shows. They also have nooks bursting with their specially branded lollies and huge selections of locally made chocolates. There’s an ample array of international brands as well. Jessie, who works at their Carlton store, says people tend to go to the American products first, perhaps because of their prevalence in films.
‘There are strawberry clouds, malt balls, candy corn ... all you want to do is put your hand in and stuff your face.’
It seems everywhere I go there’s the looming presence of America’s ‘flaming hot’ flavoured Cheetos. Every store I visit stocks them, so despite the incongruity I’m convinced a lolly shop is the only place you can find the ‘flaming hot’ range. That damn cheetah follows me everywhere. If you search ‘flaming hot cheetos’ on YouTube, you’ll find an endless row of video bloggers. The same thing occurs when you search ‘Japanese Kit Kats,’ or ‘Beanboozled’ (a popular Jelly Belly range). Needless to say, lolly shops are a valuable resource for Australian bloggers wanting in on a trend.
I visit Sweet Bee in the Forest Hill Chase, a shopping centre about forty minutes from the Melbourne CBD. It has tall, mesmerising shelves of packaged lollies and chocolates. I’ve been here before but never fully scoped it out. Nestled between a Gloria Jean’s and an Aldi, I would call it a hidden gem. When I enter, there’s a woman whose kids are repeatedly saying, ‘I’m in heaven.’ There’s a huge selection of Pop Tarts, a couple of shelves with imported soft drinks and a golden display of Lindt Bunnies at the entrance. Susan and Selena, working at the counter, say that right now their Easter eggs are the most popular item. It’s early April; this is no surprise. Eggs, baskets and bunnies decorate the store. It’s a rainbow of tinfoil. Selena, translating for her mother, tells me that Thursdays and Fridays are their busiest. I think there’s a collective idea that the end of the week is for unhealthy food.
***
You don’t need to travel far to find a lolly shop. You can shop for clothes and lollies within the same vicinity. So, if you have five minutes before your train leaves, why not buy a bag of the highly sought-after raspberry liquorice twists? Sure, you can go to a supermarket, glide past the gum section and buy a bag of Allen’s Party Mix, but where’s the fun in that? You want a store dedicated to what it sells. You want a smiling face at the counter. You want to see rows and rows of colourful items so soft and shiny that they resemble toys. You want to feel that illicit thrill, just like when you were a kid.
A GUIDE TO MELBOURNE’S BEST LOLLY SHOPS
SUGAR STATION
Melbourne, various locations
With multiple locations around Melbourne, Sugar Station is a one- stop shop for lolly addicts. From German gummies to chunky Ameri- can chocolate bars, Sugar Station has all your sweet needs.
BROWN’S CONFECTIONARY
Sovereign Hill, Ballarat
Known for the iconic Raspberry Drops, Brown’s Confectionary is a part of Main Street in Sovereign Hill. Using traditional sweet-mak- ing equipment you can watch the famous lollies being made right before your eyes!
SWEET BEE
Level 1, Forest Hill Chase
Among the rows and rows of colourful treats — whether you’re after hard toffees, lollipops or gummy candies — you’ll find what you’re looking for at Sweet Bee.
THE BIGGEST LOLLIE SHOP IN THE WORLD
247 Mickleham Road, Westmeadows
The Biggest Lollie Shop In The World is no joke! With a never-end- ing selection of lollies and chocolates available, it makes the trek to the store worthwhile.
THE ORIGINAL LOLLY STORE
239 Lygon Street, Carlton & Melbourne Emporium
Known for their delicious freshly made fudge, The Original Lolly Store’s range, from Australian confectionary to European choco- lates, is bound to have your favourite treat.
