Does anyone know, or care, about the history of my favorite Los Angeles candy store, Littlejohn’s Candies at the Original Farmers Market on 3rd and Fairfax? Probably not. But do I care? Oh yes. And since I basically consider myself their unofficial taste-tester, you’re getting the sweet scoop. 🍫

It all started in 1924, when Mr. and Mrs. Littlejohn—former New Yorkers with a serious sweet tooth—moved to Los Angeles and began cooking up English Toffee in copper kettles. Not just any toffee. The kind of toffee that makes dentists shake their heads while secretly buying a box. By 1946, they’d set up shop at the Farmers Market, where the smell of melting sugar and butter wafted through the stalls and ruined all other snacks for eternity.

Fast forward to the 1980s, when the Graves family took over and proved that yes, other humans were worthy of carrying the Littlejohn’s torch. Today, the tradition continues: candy made in copper kettles, tempered on marble slabs, and hand-dipped like each piece is auditioning for The Great British Bake Off. The best part? You can watch the whole process through the shop’s big glass windows, drooling like a kid outside Willy Wonka’s factory. (I speak from experience.)

But let’s not stop at toffee. Oh no. Candy apples the size of your head, fluffy caramel marshmallows that feel like biting into a cloud wearing a caramel jacket, honeycomb so good it makes bees jealous, and chocolate barks that snap like ASMR for your taste buds.

Yes, it’s $40 a pound, and yes, that’s a small fortune. But honestly? Worth every cocoa-dusted penny. As Charles M. Schulz put it: “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” And in this case, a LOT of chocolate is even better.