Indiana Candy Shop Has Been Satisfying Sweet Tooths for 133 Years

Okay, because it's bugging me, let me begin by saying "sweet tooths" is actually correct. I looked it up. Please continue to pluralize "tooth" as "teeth" if "sweet" does not precede it.

Now that that's out of the way, let's TALK about how Hoosiers, and Kentuckians for that matter, have been enjoying the wonders created by a certain candy shop, I mean CONFECTIONERY, for 133 years. How many local businesses do YOU know that have kept it going since Benjamin Harrison was p+resident? (And Harrison was a Hoosier; how appropriate.)

Schimpff's Confectionery in Jeffersonville IN keeps kickin' it old school as folks can come in and watch ace confectioners like Cousin Steve and his team concoct some magnificent morsels. On their recent 133rd anniversary, they sold 40 pounds of their signature red hots for 2 cents per quarter pound.

And there is no way I will get to the end of my journey on Earth without heading to Jeffersonville and snagging a bag for myself. Yes, I also plan on watching the staff make them.

The Schimpff family had been making candy in Jeffersonville since 1871, and as far back as the 1850s in Louisville. It was in 1891 when Gus Schimpff Sr and Jr rented a storefront on Spring Street in Jeffersonville. In 2001, 110 years later, they expanded into the empty unit next door, and the rest is sweet, delicious history.

The cinnamon red hots are a signature Schimpff's creation, but they also specialize in Modjeskas--caramel-covered marshmallows--and hard candy fish, in homage to the fact they're in a river town. Other candies are also available, and so are tours of the candy museum.

Sounds like a perfect Saturday to me.