Quality Candy
1801 E. Bolivar Ave., St. Francis
(414) 483-4500
qcbs.com

Known far and wide for items such as Butter Almond Toffee, Pecan Caramel Tads, double-dipped Cherry Cordials, and award-winning Fairy Food, Quality Candy has been at it since 1916 and is probably Milwaukee's most visible candy maker/retailer. Their airport store allows travelers something they don't get at many airports: the opportunity to sample locally-made goodies instead of something from a national candy chain.

Tuesday through Thursday, Quality Candy offers free tours of its 45,000-sq. ft. facility. It's one of the places where you can see the swirling vats of chocolate and other confections that bring out the excited kid in all of us. In the same building, just off Bolivar, you can browse the selection of candies, chocolates, nuts, and other treats that make up the selection line for both Quality Candy and Buddy Squirrel in their retail store. The Quality Candy/Buddy Squirrel relationship, essentially two product lines united under one company, plays out by selling candy and nuts (with no ifs or buts, to counter the popular expression) in 13 other retail stores across the area, including the airport, several area shopping centers, and a few stand-alone stores.

Quality Candy kicked off the Easter season with an open house on Sunday, March 28th, and has ramped up production of its original whipped cream eggs, marshmallow eggs, heavy cream eggs, caramel eggs, marshmallow eggs... you get the picture.

Easter's BIG feature, literally, is their 67-pound chocolate rabbit, with accompanying "baby" rabbits of 9 and 4 pounds. Look for them both the factory store and in stores across the area. As of press time, nibbling off the bunnies was not allowed.

While Easter brings huge chocolate rabbits, the time leading up to Mother's Day will feature double-dipped Strawberry Cordials, so look for those soon (it's coming up fast, too...)

Store hours vary by location; call or see Web site for details.

Northern Chocolate
2034 N. Martin Luther King Dr.
(414) 372-1885
Operating out of a small storefront on King Drive a few blocks south of North Avenue, Chocolatier Jim Fetzer and his cohorts at Northern Chocolate create, package and ship a variety of chocolates, including many of custom design. Chocolate Easter bunnies are, of course, a passionate and perennial feature. Fetzer declared in the past that 90 percent of the world's social problems are caused by hollow chocolate bunnies and vowed never to produce such an "abomination."

However, it doesn't stop at bunnies... Northern Chocolate, which uses at otter in its logo as labels some products with "Otterly Peaceful", also turns out bears, fish and other forms crafted from his unrivaled collection of antique molds.

The lion's share of customers for Northern Chocolate consists of companies and organizations that distribute them as treats or gifts to customers, employees, or members. They do, however, maintain a store in their cream city brick building on King Drive. While business hours vary by season, if you call or stop in to find them open, you can browse among the classic wooden counters and display cases, marveling at the large selection of chocolate goodies.

Omanhene Cocoa Bean Co.
5441 S. 9th St.
(414) 744-8780
omahene.com
Steven Wallace is an attorney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is the founder of the Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company beginning in 1991. Omanhene (pronounced OH-man-HEE-nee) is the Ghanaian word for "paramount chief," a Ghanaian title of royalty. Steven's own ties with Ghana trace him back to 1978 when he was a high school exchange student in Ghana.

In Milwaukee, you can buy Omanhene products, including award-winning dark milk chocolate and hot cocoa mix, at Alterra Coffee Roasters, Outpost Natural Foods, Sendik's and Pick'n Save.

Kehr's Kandy Kitchen, Inc.
3533 W. Lisbon Ave.
(414) 344-4305
kehrs.com
From the longtime ownership of Bill "the Kandy Man" Kehr, who passed way last year, to the current almost decade-long ownership of Paul Martinka, Kehr's Kandy Kitchen has stayed put in a neighborhood that has seen better days, but has stabilized as of late. The longtime establishment serves many local customers, some of whom are fifth-generation and drive in from all over town.

From its location on Lisbon at 36th Street, Kehr's Kandy Kitchen "kranks" out Raspberry Whips, Cream Eggs, Turtles, Fairy Food, meltaway Russian mint bars, chocolates, and more, and has been doing so since 1930. All candy... er, kandy, is made in the building from scratch from their homemade recipes.

If you stop in, Martinka will likely be the person to greet you and won't be shy about pointing out the collection of antiques on the walls, nor the massive variety of candy offered: a Kehr's "Variety Pack" contains around 30 different types of caramels, toffees, nut clusters, and more. Kehr's also makes eight kinds of creams, seven kinds of fruits, seven different kinds of chocolate-covered nuts, six kinds of meltaways, six kinds of truffles, and one kind of fudge: chocolate pecan.

For those who need a spicy kick in their candy, Kehr's makes hot pepper truffles (feel free to bring your own hot sauce).

The award-winning Irish Cream Meltaway Bar is a prominent feature at Kehr's. In addition to their store, you can find those bars at County Claire on Astor and Knapp.

Easter brings a whole new level of featured delicacies: 66 different Easter items, not including bunny varieties. Martinka suggests de-emphasizing the traditional mass-produced jelly beans and focusing instead on the homemade items, such as whipped cream eggs (7 varieties), heavy cream eggs (10 varieties), peanut butter meltaways, or mint meltaways. Some of the eggs are over a quarter of a pound, all priced at $2.29 or less.

Kehr's is 10 blocks east of Highway 41 off the Lloyd Street exit. Hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Martinka and his staff enjoy summer, so they're only open the third Tuesday of each month from May through August.

NECCO (New England Confectionary Company)
P.O. Box 65, Pewaukee
(414) 691-0600
necco.com
Though headquartered in Boston, the Pewaukee plant for NECCO is one of only three in the nation for the company, which is the oldest multi-line candy company in the United States. In Pewaukee, candy stix and candy hearts are some of the products produced, as well as those NECCO wafers that famously passed as quarters for a brief spell in Illinois tollbooths, causing a sugary mess amongst a sea of coins.

The tall, colorful wafer tower is visible off Capitol Drive and Highway 16 as you drive past. There is store in the facility, but you can find their products pretty much everywhere else.

So, the Brew City is also the Sweet City. Not only do a multitude of candy and chocolate stores that offer a dizzying array of sweet treats, but many companies make that candy right here in Milwaukee. The companies above are just some of those who make it from scratch, and allow other stores -- and finally us -- to enjoy the sweet treats and allow us to spend some time living that popular expression of happiness: being a kid in a candy store.