Satiate your sweet tooth at new Buzz Pop Candy Shop

By Lisa Duckers
Staff Writer

Costa students now have a new way to satisfy their sweet tooth with the opening of Buzz Pop Candy Shop, a retro candy and soda store with a new modern edge.

Business partners Peter Sachs and Steve Sobel opened up Buzz Pop in downtown Hermosa Beach a few weeks ago. What sets this store apart from the other shops to some students is its small-town candy store vibe, complete with classic and bizarre treats.

“I really like the old sort of style that the store has,” junior Christina Harris said. “It’s bright, colorful, and makes me feel like I traveled back in time to the 1960s. There’s so much vintage` candy that I haven’t seen since I was a little kid.”

After growing up together on the East Coast, Sachs and Sobel moved to California after college to go into the food retail business. They recently opened up Buzz Pop as a side project to their main day jobs.

“Steve and I both have a big sweet tooth, especially for candy and taffy,” Sachs said. “We both decided that opening a candy store wouldn’t distract us from our other jobs and would be re ally fun. So far people have been really supportive of the shop.”

With its psychedelic yellow and green exterior, Buzz Pop is hard to miss. When people walk into the shop, many are taken in by the bright yellow, polka-dotted interior, if they haven’t already been drawn in by the enticing candy displays.

“Steve and I really tried to cre ate that ‘60s and ‘70s theme in the shop. It’s supposed to take people back to a time when they were younger,” Sachs said.

There is a wide variety of sweets throughout the shop. Buzz Pop sells everything from old favorites like Mallo Cups and Zots to classics like Pop Rocks and giant gummy bears.

They also have a large num ber of truly bizarre candies such as bacon-flavored and cupcake-flavored mints, as well as tequila lollipops with worms inside.

“The sodas and candies that we order for the shop are based on what customers request. We also do research on what candies were popular back in the ‘60s and early ‘70s,” Sachs said.

The sodas sold include well-known products such as Dr. Pep per and root beer in addition to odd varieties like Bubble Up and Squamscot. All sodas are sold in glass bottles.

Buzz Pop is also known for its taffy, which is made in Salt Lake City.

“We have 30 flavors of taffy including chocolate, raspberry lemonade, banana, grape and but tered popcorn,” Sachs said.

Although the thought of a candy store may evoke mixed reactions from those who are trying to take off a few pounds, Buzz Pop offers options that keep those who are health-conscious from feeling left out.

“There are several candies here that are sugar-free. Each and every one of our 50 soda flavors are made with cane sugar, which is much healthier than corn syr up,” Sachs said.

Buzz Pop Candy Shop hasn’t been open long, but it has already gained a reputation for introduc ing a younger generation to the candy and soda its parents enjoyed as kids. It is located at 1312 Her mosa Ave. in Hermosa Beach.

“We have only been open for a short time, but we already have many regulars, even if a lot of them are only 10 years old.” said Sachs. “Most say something along the lines of ‘I want to live here.’”