Duluth’s Rocket Fizz candy store is a sweet tooth delight
With literally thousands of types of candies on their shelves, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find your favorite at the new Rocket Fizz candy store in downtown Duluth.
A candy craze
M&Ms? Skittles? Snickers? Of course. How about something a little less common like Chuckles or Necco wafers? Rocket Fizz has them.
They also have freeze-dried candy – which is very popular nowadays – in several different flavors. Rocket Fizz also has candies from Europe and Asia, including Pocky Sticks from Japan.
Just about the only request store owner Stephan Nelson has gotten so far that he hasn’t been able to meet is for Squirrel Nut Zippers. No, seriously. Squirrel Nut Zippers. (Nelson reports they are like a Mary Jane but with more of a pure peanut flavor.)
And if all that’s not enough, you can also choose from over 300 different sodas.
Sure, there are classics like Coke and Dr. Pepper. Rocket Fizz has the good kind, the ones made with pure cane sugar. (Pro tip: Nelson says an ice cream float made with his Dr. Pepper and vanilla ice cream can’t be beaten.)
But there are some unusual sodas too. Flavors like ranch dressing, butter, mustard, black olive and sweet corn to name a few.
And get this, Rocket Fizz has pickle soda. That probably sounds weird, but Nelson says it’s pretty good – if you like pickles. “It tastes like sweetened and carbonated pickle juice,” he said.
Old-fashioned candy store
There are lots of places in Gwinnett where you can buy candy. But Rocket Fizz is a candy store.
“It’s reminiscent of an old general store candy store,” Nelson said. “It’s nostalgic, but it also feels like part of the current neighborhood.”
Nelson has seen that nostalgia is as important to his customers as the candy. It seems like candy is nostalgic for everyone. It’s a direct connection to childhood. He’s had many long conversations with customers about the memories they share.
“I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve literally sat with somebody for an hour,” he said, “sharing stories like ‘Oh my gosh when we were kids, don’t you remember riding your bike to the store and you’d save up your money and have enough to get a comic book and a Coke and that was the best day of your of your month.’ It’s that connection that people make with candy because of that direct link to your childhood.”
Duluth is a great fit
The Duluth Rocket Fizz is Nelson’s fourth Rocket Fizz location, joining his stores in Newnan, Marietta and Chattanooga.
He’s been watching Duluth for a while.
“I’m always keeping an eye out for the right environment for a store,” he said, “and Duluth had kind of popped up on my radar a couple of years ago as the type of place that a Rocket Fizz store would add to the community.”
Nelson had been communicating with the city and when a location opened up on Main Street last year, Jessica Bianchi, the city’s Development Specialist, contacted him.
“As soon as I walked in,” Nelson recalled, “I sent a text to my wife that said, ‘this is a Rocket Fizz’. It’s a nice historic building. It’s got good bones. It’s got an interesting shape.”
It was January when Nelson first saw the building and he moved quickly. The Duluth Rocket Fizz opened on April 1.
Community is important
The location was important to Nelson because one of his goals for the store is to be a part of the community. That’s been a big part of the success of the Marietta location, and he saw that same opportunity here in Duluth.
“The preference is to be in the heart of the community,” he said. “It’s a business and you want to be successful with your business, but to me, where we can be the most successful is when we are able to integrate and be a part of the community. Being involved in community events is a big part of what we want to do here.”
With Fridays-N-Duluth, the Town Green concert series, and of course, the Fall Festival, Nelson is looking forward to Rocket Fizz becoming part of the downtown Duluth scene.
Support from all sides
Even before Rocket Fizz had opened, Nelson had many of his neighboring business owners coming by to say hi and check in to see how things were going.
That was reinforced at a recent gathering for the local Duluth business owners.
“I was surprised at how many I already knew,” he said. “The way that the community has embraced us and said, ‘We’re very happy to have you here.’”
“There’s something special here,” he said about Duluth. “Everybody’s pulling in the same direction.”
Something for everyone
My favorite candy is probably the aforementioned Chuckles. Seeing them again at Rocket Fizz put a smile on my face and I could barely wait until I got to Town Green to eat the entire pack.
Nelson’s favorite is a relatively new one for him, Milka chocolate from Germany. He really likes the European formula for chocolate, where milk is the number one ingredient instead of sugar.
“They have a Chips Ahoy flavor,” he said, “that’s got the chocolate chip cookie dough on the inside and the little chocolate squares.”
There’s a group of City of Duluth employees taking a more analytical approach. They are constantly coming to Rocket Fizz for chocolates.
When they get back to City Hall, they taste-test what they buy and put together a color-coded spreadsheet with the results. They printed it out and brought it to the store. For the record, they love Hammond’s chocolate and say that the Pig and Taters bar (bacon and potato chips in a chocolate bar) is “the worst candy bar ever”.
Whatever your favorite is, I’m willing to bet Rocket Fizz has it waiting for you on the shelf.
Photos by Glenn Boylan
