Colorado Springs’ Best Kept Secrets: Patsy’s Candies

There is an urban legend about Patsy's Candies. The owner of Patsy's had a secret recipe for caramel popcorn that is to die for.

One night, at a poker game at the Broadmoor, he bet the recipe – and lost. The man who won that poker game, the legend goes, went on to found Cracker Jack.

Of course, that probably didn't happen. According to Mike Farrell, manager of Patsy's Candies, Cracker Jack was founded several years before Patsy's.

Patsy's Candies was founded in 1903 by an Irishman named Patsy Mahaney, but it's unlikely that he lost his prize recipe in a poker game.

What is true, however, is that the store has gone through several owners over the past century. The original store specialized in saltwater taffy and flavored popcorn. Other owners have added new candy to the Patsy's repertoire.

The latest owners are the Niswonger family. According to Farrell, Howard and Caroline Niswonger bought the store in the ‘50s. Now their son, Wes, owns the candy shop, and he has expanded the store's stock to include chocolate.

From the outside, the store looks quite small – exactly what you would expect from a local candy shop. Once inside, however, the illusion is terminated. Carmen Garcia, a front counter employee, said, "People are surprised at how big the store is."

The rustic exterior is contrasted by the much more modern interior. The front counter is open to the back with large viewing windows.

Through the windows, you can watch the candy makers in the back making the sweet treats that are sold in front.

Many of the machines can put together a huge of amount of candy in a short amount of time. For example, the taffy-pulling machine can stretch a 120-pound batch of taffy in about five minutes. This same process used to take hours with a hand-driven pulling machine.

There are also larger appliances: The store's corn syrup rests in a vat that holds 32,000 pounds of syrup – enough for an entire year of candy production.  

Wes Niswonger's sister, Jane Green, works in the store a couple of hours a week. She helps with the front counter, or with packaging orders. "There's always excitement," she said. "It's just kind of exciting, special."

Green, though she only works at the store a couple of days a week, feels a special connection to the store. "It makes you proud that it is what it is," she said, referring to her family's multi-generational ownership of the store.

More info: patsyscandies.com