Candy Hall of Fame experience coming to Mag Mile

Chicago will be home to the Candy Hall of Fame Experience when the new attraction opens in summer 2027 on the Magnificent Mile, the National Confectionery Sales Association announced on Thursday.

The 60,000-square-foot, multi-level space at 830 N. Michigan Ave. will spotlight candy brands, innovators and confectionery history and feature a large store.

Chicago beat Orlando and New York City to permanently host the candy museum, in part to the city’s major role in candy making history.

“For more than a century, Chicago has been home to some of the most iconic names in American candy, including Ferrara, Mars, Brach’s, Tootsie and Wrigley. Even Milton Hershey found his chocolate inspiration in Chicago at the 1893 World’s Fair,” Shelly Clarey, National Confectionery Sales Association’s chairman, said in a news release. “Establishing the Candy Hall of Fame Experience here reflects the city’s deep connection to the industry and creates a home to celebrate the people who helped build it.”

The candy museum’s 20-year lease gives a boost to Chicago’s struggling Downtown, which has seen a slew of business closures since the COVID-19 pandemic. Saks Fifth Avenue will close its Michigan Avenue store this spring, after its parent company filed for bankruptcy in January. Macy’s left Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue in 2021, leaving Chicago’s high street without a full-line department store.

The attraction’s building was formerly home to retailer Uniqlo, which vacated in 2021. But the Japanese clothing brand last month opened a new store at 600 N. Michigan Ave.

Other signs of revival include JPMorgan Chase’s announcement in December of a new flagship branch also at 830 N. Michigan, scheduled to open this fall. Chocolatier Hotel Chocolat opened a store in the same building late last year. The property is owned by an entity linked to developer Scott Goodman, who owed millions in late fees for unpaid rent for a space in a CTA-owned West Loop building.

The Candy Hall of Fame expects to attract 2 million visitors each year and will employ about 200. Founded in 1971, the Candy Hall of Fame has not had a permanent home for many years, according to a spokesperson.

Chicago’s candy making history dates from the late 1800s. Fannie May’s first store was in the Loop and Frango mints were produced at Marshall Field’s department store on State Street for 70 years.

“Generations of companies built this industry here, and the stories behind those creations deserve to live where they began. This isn’t just a location choice; it’s a homecoming,” Jeff Rubin, CEO of the Candy Hall of Fame Experience, said in a news release. Rubin is the former founder and CEO of candy store It’Sugar.

But candy manufacturers have made high-profile exits in recent years. Blommer Chocolate Co. closed its iconic Chicago factory in 2024. Mars Wrigley also shuttered its factory in Galewood on the Far West Side.