Recently I got a ridiculous craving for Snickers. In a world full of Milka and Czech chocolate, I became convinced I couldn’t get one in Prague. (I was wrong. You can buy one at any grocery store for about 36 cents.) But in my misguided quest to find a Snickers, I stumbled upon something beyond my wildest dreams… a place where I could satisfy my American junk food fix: The Candy Store.
The Candy Store is a Czech chain with a few shops in Prague and about a dozen more scattered around the Czech Republic. It specializes in selling the disgusting (AMAZING!) American things that real Czech grocery stores would never stock. It has a good mix of both British and American foods, though it looks like they stock the British version of anything that is sold in both countries. In fairness, that’s probably slightly better for us.
So what wonders will you find at the Candy Store?
Hershey’s Kisses, chocolate bars (including Cookies ‘n’ Cream), Oreos, different types of Kit Kat, Skittles, Pop Rocks, Nerds and Nerds Rope, M&Ms. But in addition to satisfying your sweet tooth, they also have plenty of savory snacks like Goldfish, Doritos, Fritos, and even canned cheese. They also sell drinks like Fanta, Mountain Dew, Vanilla Coke, Dr. Pepper, and a variety of energy drinks. And disgusting beers like Coors and Bud Light. Imagine being in the land of good beer and buying a Coors Light.
But aside from all things sugary and bad for you, they’re like a small grocery store of products you probably take for granted when you’re home and don’t realize that you’re missing here. For instance, peanut butter, pancake mix and maple syrup. You’ll find a lot of other breakfast favorites like Pop Tarts and cereals. You can even find food like Kraft Mac and Cheese, Chili beans, Campbell’s soups, and Shake and Bake. And for those of you that are celebrating holidays in Prague, you can buy a can of pumpkin puree for pies.
And while on the subject of holidays, The Candy Shop also has seasonal offerings. Even though I went after Easter, they still had Cadbury Eggs and Marshmallow Peeps. Imagine my delight.
Though they don’t have a lot of frozen products from the US, they do sell Cadbury ice cream and frozen meat pies and burgers from the UK. If you’re looking for something specific, you can check their online inventory to see what they have and where it’s stocked.
The downside?
I felt like I was in Willy Wonka’s factory in there. I grabbed a hand basket hoping to get some of my favorite goodies. The first thing I reached for was a box of Special K with Berries. Then I realized it was $8. Considering the fact that my weekly groceries cost me about $25, I decided to take a pass. All the products in the store are equally overpriced, even compared to how much they cost back home.
And it’s worth noting that some of these things are sold locally at a reasonable price at Tesco, because it’s a British chain of grocery stores. So The Candy Store is worth it for Peeps or Doritos, but if you want Frosted Flakes (sold as Frosties here), you can get it at Tesco for less than half the price.
In the end, I only spent about $6 on Easter candy and two different kinds of Snickers. Of course, that was before I realized that I could find a regular Snickers at 1/5 the price at a grocery store. So check the local stores first, but if you have a weird craving for beef jerky or Reese’s Pieces, The Candy Store has got you covered.
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