Watch Candy Canes Made by Hand at This Beloved Indiana Candy Shop

A family-owned candy shop in Indiana has been handcrafting candy canes for over 100 years, giving customers a full view of the process.

With Christmas just around the corner, it's likely you've already seen candy canes scattered about in your local grocery store. While various flavors of these sugar sticks exist, I must say my favorite is still the plain old peppermint ones with red and white stripes. Every year, my family places them on our Christmas tree not only for decoration, but also to munch on throughout the holiday season. However, this year, we might just have to skip the boxes sold at major retailers in favor of something a little more classic and homemade.

Martinsville Candy Kitchen

Martinsville Candy Kitchen is a small, family-owned candy shop located on Main Street in Martinsville, Indiana. Founded by Greek immigrant Jimmy Zapapas, the shop has been around since 1919 and, contrary to popular belief, is not a factory. All candies are handmade using recipes passed down from generation to generation. The shop produces everything from jellies to its signature candy canes, which remain its most popular item. In fact, in 2023 alone, the shop made approximately 45,000 candy canes.

Get our free mobile app

Handmaking Traditional Candy Canes

One of the coolest parts about visiting this shop is that you can see the hardworking candymakers in action. According to Martinsville Candy Kitchen, the handmade candy cane process takes two people a total of about 2 1/2 hours to produce 200 candy canes. The store says all are welcome to check out the live demonstrations, which happen year-round. For demonstration dates and times, you can visit the shop’s Instagram or Facebook page.