With Valentine’s Day uppermost on our minds Thursday Food popped into LOL Snack Stop, an all-things-sweet candy store located on the upper floor of the JUTC bus terminal in Half-Way-Tree.

Their merchandise — candies, chocolates, nuts, and more candies — sent us reminiscing on the days of primary and high school, or earlier, when it was candy central 365 days a year.

From gummies and bubblegum, lollipops, candies hard and soft, mints, nuts, chocolates to wafers, biscuits and trail mixes, LOL’s sweets stock towers high, and so do the cabinet shelves and dispensers that are constantly refilled.

Store owner Alyssa Lee-Rose explained the inspiration.

“Like most businesses LOL Snack Stop started as just an idea. The family has been in the candy business since 1985. Our mother company, which is a distributor and wholesale business, imports and distributes around the island, and so we decided to try our hand at the retail side with the option of selling wholesale for some items,” Lee-Rose explained.

There’s more, however, to satisfy the sweet cravings like chocolate bars and mini Hershey, Mars Mini, Corazon Heart, Ti Amo and Ice Mountain all perfectly displayed, under the central counter of the store. Nuts too, and retailed in varying measurements, can be had, ranging from sunflower seeds, sweet and nutty trail mixes, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, almonds, walnuts to cashews.

So far, everybody’s favourite, Lee-Rose has discovered, are “the gummies and the ability to mix them”, with the “large amount of truffles and other assorted chocolates”, the second most highly requested.

“Some items are sold by the weight like the ones in the dispensers. They include the gummies, hard and soft candies and the variety of nuts/trail mix/seeds we offer,” Lee-Rose pointed out.

And if you also want local options like the much-loved chewy sweet — Busta — the store has those too.

“We used to support the old-time Jamaican brand Miels which manufactured icy mints, paradise plums etc, until their recent closure. We’ve made contact with “Sweetie” who has begun manufacturing and hope to stock some of their items in the near future. So, for the time being, it’s the traditional peanut brittle and Busta,” Lee-Rose explained.

Expansion is in the cards and Lee-Rose hopes that at least two more stores can be opened in the future. The search is on for the perfect location.

Until such time we leave you with the knowledge that where there is candy, there is love and sweetness in profusion!