Candyality Draws Parallels Between Sweet Tooth and Personality

BY ESTHER REISINGER

If you like cinnamon bears, does it mean you’re practical? Does the fact that you enjoy a handful of Sixlets on occasion mean youʼre a good negotiator? Candyality suggests that it might.

This sweet shop is bringing sugar to a whole new level by attaching meaning to your indulgences. And by meaning, Iʼm talking about more than just the pure delight of noshing on sugar, which, if weʼre being real, is reason enough to head to this sweet boutique in Lakeview. Founder Terese McDonald has been exploring the connection between personality to confections for years and it was this passion that led to opening her first store in Lakeview in 2007.

Iʼm told that everyone enjoys candy at least once in awhile, or if youʼre me, at least once in a day. I was born with an insatiable sweet tooth, so when I walked into Candyality the first time, I was so overwhelmed at the walls of colorful goodies and display cases of chocolate that I hardly knew what to do. I was, well…like a kid in a candy shop (and now I understand the meaning of that phrase). Youʼll see for yourself
when you are jolted back to your childhood with retro favorites like Slo-pokes or cinnamon hot dog gum. Me and my candy-coated heart were in heaven.

Candyality really covers all the bases, and then rounds them again just for fun. Everything you could want, from swedish fish to Jelly Bellys to chocolate-covered Oreos and Sʼmores, is just waiting for you. Thereʼs an entire wall devoted to different kinds of gummy bears…ever had a techno bear? They also have a chocolate-covered section, where youʼll find things you didnʼt know should even be dipped in chocolate, like gummy bears or caramel corn, but then of course it makes sense when you see it. The bulk candy (fill your bags however you like) runs $10.99/lb. Boxes of movie favorites, an array of Pez dispensers, and novelty items like bacon frosting and grape-flavored mustaches are among the treasures that line the walls.

The fun doesnʼt stop after you select your drug, er, candy of choice. Once you’ve shopped, you can be evaluated based on your picks. Perhaps you have chewy candies and that speaks or your durability, or maybe you carry a colorful assortment in your bag, which means you are creative. McDonald has found that candy speaks to (and about) everyone in a universal language.

The fact that she has since opened two more locations (Shops at Northbridge in 2009 and Water Tower Place in 2011) proves that sheʼs onto something. So whether youʼre into fluffy, sour, chewy, or chocolate-y, thereʼs something for you at Candyality. Lose yourself, indulge your senses, and just remember that you are what you eat.

Candyality, 3425 N. Southport. For more information visit www.candyality.com, call 773-742-7800 or visit Candyality on Twitter or Facebook.

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