We go here whenever we go to the wharf . Its firstly one of the few places that has skim milk for a latte . Yes the have plant based whole milk etc . So i love the option. The fudge is out of this world . They ice cream is of course unbeatable and the staff is always nice read more

It's been a while since Ive had taffy. This definitely the best spot to get it on the boardwalk. My toddler got to see the taffy being pulled. She definitely loved the bubblegum flavor. Stop by for a quick and nostalgic treat. read more

Marini's At the Beach - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Candies, fudge, caramels and taffies. Located just before the wharf on the boardwalk. Good for kids and nostalgic. The sea salt toffee was good. It's pricey- we got toffee and caramel for $4+ read more

Marini's At the Beach - Store - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Hadn't been to Marini's in a long time. Went to the wharf for clam chowder missing the Dolphin. Went to Gildas. It was okay. After Went to Marini's. Wanted the Tital Wave bars and got some taffy. Very disgusted. The Tital Wave bars were awful. Not worth the price. The taffy wasn't much better. Got a very small piece and it was very soft. I won't go back. I was born here. I have always gone to the on the boardwalk and downtown. They have hone downhill and the prices expensive. Awful experience and product. read more

A trip to the beach isn't complete without a stop to Marini's. Best place for soft, buttery, chewy saltwater taffy. Once you try it here, you won't want it from anywhere else! There's always a friendly face working the counter, whether its a seasoned taffy puller or a teen working their summer job, the staff here is wonderful. A true Santa Cruz gem. read more

Marini's At the Beach - Nothing beats snacking on saltwater taffy while sunbathing - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

When going to the boardwalk I always want to pop in to the arcade area for the lights the people the food and the vibe... this visit was no different. After spending the day at the beach swimming, lounging and eating we popped in to Marini's for some coffee my daughter seen the had affogato on the menu I LOVE Affogato! This was just okay since I had never tried it with cold coffee before. The cappuccino was good though! Solid 3.5 stars! read more

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Always come back for the salt water taffy whenever I'm in the area. It's a classic and just hits different while you're walking around the boardwalk. read more

This place should be avoided at all costs. I witnessed a woman massaging melted chocolate with her bare, filthy hands and using the other hand to prop herself up -- completely unsanitary. She was dipping chocolate pretzels this way, and it was disturbing and unacceptable. I demand a refund and can only hope I don't get food poisoning after the fact of seeing this. This establishment has been reported and needs immediate attention from health authorities. read more

Marini's At the Beach - Dipping chocolate with. Filthy hands, gross!! - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

I came to the Boardwalk location across from the sea swings ride to get a caramel apple on 9/13 at 7pm. One young man was helping another customer. I went up to the register to order and the other three staff were sitting on the back counter. I waited several minutes and they never got up to help me, just stared at me snickering. I left without ordering since no one would come help me. read more

My wife's favorite peanut butter taffy. Friendly service, love watching the taffy pull machine. Fun beachfront ambiance. read more

Marini's At the Beach - the storefront - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

We love this place. not sure if it is the same as Marini's Candy, but we've only come to this location. The service is always great. The young guy working yesterday was so polite and professional. Hard to find young folks like that. Their confections are so good. Not too sweet and super smooth chocolates. If this really is passed on through the generations, then please continue. Love places like this. read more

This is the little kiosk on the boardwalk, they have another bigger location just down the way. I saw they had these lovely big caramel apples, and of course the kid in me wanted one! I never buy these things unless I'm at the beach or somewhere fun, so it's a special treat! I got the apple which was dipped in caramel, then milk chocolate then chopped almonds. I had the girl cut it for me, and my family and I shared this after lunch and it was absolutely delicious and fun to eat! Price was very fair as well. read more

I live out of state now and I really miss this place. I ordered baskets of candy last Christmas and I ordered some this Christmas. So happy that they are able to ship their products to me. The baskets of candy arrived quickly, and beautifully wrapped great customer service. read more

It doesn't matter how many sweets I eat throughout the day, when I'm at the boardwalk my trip is not complete without stopping by Marini's. They carry a variety of candy so there is definitely something for everyone-fudge, gummy candy and of course, their famous salt water taffy in almost every flavor you can think of. We always get salt water taffy to take home but this visit we also tried some of their Marini's made Rocky Road fudge and it was so good I am sorry we did not get more! It was filled with huge pieces of fluffy marshmallow and chopped walnuts and it was also completely gone by the next day, lol. This is definitely a must do for those of you with a sweet tooth. Customer service could not have been better, friendly and quick with plenty of staff working that very busy Saturday. read more

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The main reason I don't particularly care much for Marini's at the Beach is because it lacks inventory and understandably so since it's a compact version of the store. I wouldn't be surprised if Marini's at the Beach rotates the selection of candies and chocolates because its small. As long as I can find my favorite Marini's product, the Tidal Wave bar, then this franchise is totally OK in my book. And of course, I found the Tidal Wave bar today in Marini's at the Beach! This bar is pretty much a Marini's staple anyway at all the locations. It's a Rice Krispy Treat made with smooth peanut butter, mini marshmallows, white chocolate chips, and milk chocolate chips. A few other secondary favorites that I was able to purchase today from Marini's at the Beach included the s'mores bar and white chocolate dipped Oreo. I was surprised to see that this location didn't have any chocolate covered bacon, which is what Marini's is known for. Marini's chocolate covered bacon is definitely at the other locations, and it's freakin' delicious! Unfortunately my boyfriend also didn't see his favorite jelly berry candies, so we walked over to the full store at the Wharf to get those for him. The service was fine today. There were several people in front of us, but the two employees were efficient with fulfilling the orders. read more

Marini's At the Beach - My fav! Tidal Wave - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Uh well... Cute sweets place at the Santa Cruz board walk. Conveniently located by the beach next to the arcade. We came to grab something to snack on. Prices were higher than I'd like to pay, but reasonable for the touristy location. However, the girl at the counter was so rude! Like, do I owe your mom money or what? Why else would you be so impatient and upset about a paying customer asking a simple question? My day was ruined after being insulted here. Please Marini... hire more professional people! read more

Marini's At the Beach - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Chocolate covered bacon is so good. Definitely a most have while in Santa Cruz. I also tried chili gummies and they also good if you like spicy food. read more

Marini's At the Beach - Chocolate covered bacon - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Changing to 5 stars. Great communication and follow through from the business to send a replacement + refund to make it right. Please keep up and make sure there is always on attention to food-safety given kids make up a big proportion of your customer base. read more

Marini's At the Beach - Bought March 24th 2023. Was sold a product that expired 7 months ago. Thank god we checked before giving it to our kid! UNACCEPTABLE!! - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Not what it used to be. The service was terrible last time we went and it just takes away from the magic of what thus place used to be.

My boys and me loved going to visit the candy store on the boardwalk after riding the rides Watching the age old taffy pulling machine brings back good kid memories of days gone past. But then you know you are getting fresh taffy, freshly pulled by that machine, and not shipped in from New York City!!! And don't stop there. They also have huge apples all dipped n caramel sauce and covered n all kinds of goo. Plus lots of other sweets too many to mention. A great place. read more

I'm a big fan of this family place. I'm into the tourism aspect, and they have variety and sweet employees. It's truly a good little local place with great gift ideas ( like dark chocolate covered thick not greasy bacon ) ! I'm a musician and they were darling to us playing outside we brought in a lot of happy tourists and we had fun getting our coffee and sweets there. read more

I stopped by here last week on Thursday. I was hoping the quality of the candy would be the same as Marini's on the pier but it was not. I had some mix pieces of Taffy & and half of the taffy was really hard. I also got a few pieces of chocolate and it was ok. Also, I think the store at the pier has more selection of taffy and other candy/ sweets. I'm not sure if the taffy here was old and not fresh. We also got the red candy apple and this was super spicy. It tasted like it had way too much cinnamon. Next time I will not be stopping here, I'd rather go to the store location located on the pier. Their customer service could also use some improvement. I felt that the young man waiting on us was rushing me and had some attitude. Another issue I found, they have arrows on the floor to direct the line of customers but I think they need to switch it around. When you first walk up, you walk up to the registers and it's hard to see what candy they have on display. They should do the arrow so you can look at the candy and pick what you want at the register. That makes more sense to me. read more

This place has some super yummy treats! We bought mint chocolate fudge and a bunch of sour candies. The price of course is a bit high but worth it as the quality seems to be very good. They have a lot of choices to choose from,they even have chocolate covered bacon! I didn't try this though. This location is on the boardwalk and smaller than the one on the wharf so it does have less offerings, but still a good selection! I really liked the fudge and was once piece lasted me 2 days. The second day it was still good just make sure you seal it up well. I would def return here whenever I come back to the area! read more

Marini's At the Beach - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Taffy as far as the eye can see! Stopped in as now trip to Santa Cruz isn't complete without a visit to Marini's. I had called ahead to make sure they were going to be open and was told a resounding, 'YES!'. That really made my day. The gal behind the counter couldn't have been nicer and more helpful. I had quite a big order (buying gifts to take home with me!) and she was great. Even though most of the Boardwalk was closed due to the pandemic (planning to open soon though!) it was nice to be able to stop in. The taffy was great, the weather was perfect and it was a great day. read more

Treats are often yummy and taste home made! Unfortunately the service is below sub-par and slower than the molasses they bake with. They're only open two days a week right now, but somehow they thought only ONE worker on a busy weekend afternoon when it's 70+ degrees at the boardwalk was a smart idea. It wasn't. We ended up waiting about 30 mins to grab like $10 worth of candy for the kids. There was only two people in front of us in line! How did it take a whole half hour to order a cotton candy and a handful of taffies? Because the worker was slow as heck and seemed so spaced out you had to repeat everything 5 times to get it through. The kids in line were all getting antsy and wondering what the heck was taking so long. The guy behind us who was also waiting with kids literally had to speak up and if there's any way to hurry things along, that's how slow it was going. The line always had a few people in it and was never caught up because it was taking sooooo long for some simple candy orders. This place only sells like 5-6 different things just in multiple flavors, it's really not that complicated. And nothing involves the worker baking anything fresh - she's literally just putting candy in a bag and was struggling to even do that. Probably won't be back until they stop hiring space cadets behind the counter... read more

Only two words come to mind when I think about Marini's- and those two words are CRAZY DELICIOUS. I've been getting Salt Water Taffy and Chocolate from this location for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a kid its become almost a tradition to get a bag of assorted taffy and a handful of chocolates from Marini's. As a kid, I remember always stopping here BEFORE and AFTER my visit to the boardwalk- Once to get some taffy while I played on the beach, and again to grab some taffy for the ride home. More recently I've been turned on to their delicious Chocolate/Caramel Apples! All these year have gone by and I'd never tried them, but now I can't live without them- they're awesome! The prices are not as expensive as some say people say, especially for a tourist destination- in my opinion. $4.65 per 1/4 LB can still get you about a dozen pieces of chocolate INCLUDING a slice of their famous BACON chocolate all for around $6. Also, their taffy is what their known for, and you can get prepacked bags for only a few bucks. See my pictures if you're ready to drool, and next time you're visiting Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk check out Marini's! read more

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The fudge was disappointing. It tasted like it had been in the display for a while. The sea salt caramels were a little better but not much. Those were the only two items we bought. read more

Marini's Boardwalk is where it all started for the company in 1915. Although I wasn't there to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony, I can say that as a lad I played nickel-slot, wood-rail pinballs in Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Casino arcade, all the while inhaling the irresistibly sweet aroma of candy apples, lollipops and cotton candy being manufactured next door. Thursday was a busy day at the shop as the crew churned out flavor after flavor of taffy, and English toffee was being coated by hand with chocolate and chopped nuts. Admittedly, I never thought they made their own chocolate candies, but it appears they make most of what they sell. My favorite product has always been the taffy, maybe owing to the feeling of involvement derived over the years by observing hours of hypnotic stretching and pulling tons of product by the timeless machine on the other side of their bay window. You can tell by watching that Marini's employees enjoy what they do, and take their work seriously, but are happy to answer questions and explain the candymaking process to inquisitive potential customers. This is, to me, the company's showplace outlet where relationships and loyalties are created and enhanced. The boardwalk simply wouldn't be the same without this strategically situated candy emporium. read more

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A trip to the Boardwalk is never complete without a caramel apple with walnuts from Marini's. They take the juiciest green apple and dip it in smooth caramel. Finally- they roll it in freshly crushed walnuts. Crunchy. Sweet. Salty. Juicy. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! read more

CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON !!!!HELLA F'in GOOD !! I thought deep fried oreos was the best untill I had the chocolate covered bacon !!. Its so good, I'm speechless! TWO THUMBS UP! IM DONE !! read more

The chocolate, the fudge, everything sweet is absolutely divine, but I would be remiss if I did not mention the amazing customer service. We are visiting for the first time from out of town and stopped by for some chocolates both nights we were here. A variety of young customer service representatives, all just so friendly and kind and helpful and wonderful. The first night we tried chocolate fudge, peanut butter smoothies, peanut brittle, chocolate covered cookies. Tonight we went back for all of the above and some chocolate toffee. Absolute best way to end our trip!!! read more

The one reason I came here? Salt water taffy! I haven't been to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk since I was in high school, so this was definitely a blast from the past. I actually didn't even think of getting salt water taffy until the roommate's bro got a bag. They had an assortment of 14 flavors salt water taffy. Molasses Butter toffee Peppermint Licorice Cinnamon Banana Strawberry Wild cherry Red raspberry Watermelon Pina colada Chocolate Vanilla Peanut butter We ended up getting a bag of all the assorted flavors. My favs were the fruit flavors. I liked banana, strawberry, wild cherry, red raspberry & watermelon. All had a great fruity flavor that went well with the hint of salt. I normally don't like mixing sweet and salty elements, but somehow it works in salt water taffy. Marini's also sells a bunch of other candies like gummies, chocolates and such. They also have candy and caramel apples! Yum! But for the boardwalk, there's nothing like a good bag of salt water taffy. read more

Where my peanut butter fantasies are made into realities. Growing up, I used to always get a variety of flavors - from watermelon to anything else really. However, as I've cultivated a specific pallet in my older days - I now strictly buy the peanut butter salt water taffy's! They are nothing short of AMAZING. As I continue to write this, please note this review is for their customer service/management. As I've been to this location many times over my many years of existence, I'd still give them the same rating for their store/location. Most recently, I received a quarter of a pound package of PB only taffy's from the parentals. I was in Heaven, literally so excited to eat them. However, when I tried to eat them, they were all stuck to the wrapper. This didn't stop me...for the most part. I have to admit, on a few I said 'screw it' and just ate small bite of paper and spit them out when I came to them. But for the most part, I was taking bites out of the candy and throwing half, or so, away. Sad that it was hard to eat, but happy at the amazing peanut butter deliciousness, I thought I'd write an on-line inquiry. As it should be noted, this could have been my parents fault via transit, or it could have been on the part of Marini's. I'm not sure, so I wrote to them anyways. Just asking if this happens often, no blame, just a curious purchaser of their products. Within a few days, the owner left me a voicemail saying he'd like to speak with me regarding my inquiry. As usual, I forgot to call him back, but he called again. This time I answered, I don't get many SC phone calls. He introduced himself as Mr. Joe Marini and we spoke briefly. Although neither of us knew the cause, he still wanted to replace them. I said this wasn't necessary, but he wanted to so I caved. A few days later, I received my package...not only did he replace my original package, but he gave me 300% more...he shipped a whole pound of PB taffy's too me. To say I was in Heaven would be the understatement of the year. To Mr. Joe Marini - your customer service is on par with Nordstrom. I was already a lifelong fan of your product...so now I'm a SUPER lifelong fan, because I don't know what else to call it. Thank you for taking a simple inquiry and making sure there was follow through on behalf of your company. There are many companies that should look to your customer service as an example. You exemplify great management and I commend you. Again, thank you kindly! As if being a candy store on the historical Santa Cruz beach boardwalk wasn't enough, they've won me over with their customer service and attention to detail. The smell of their store, the taffy machine churning in the window, and the free samples - I can instantly image myself there right now. Your taffy's are what my peanut butter dreams are made of... read more

Everyone has to come here when they hit up the Boardwalk. It's a must. I've never been able to compare this taffy with anyone else's. Anything you could possibly imagine is in this candy factory of a store: Salt water taffy, candied apples, caramel corn, chocolates and fudge, peanut brittle, lollies, gummi treats, licorice, and the ever delicious chocolate covered bacon! The workers spend hours in the sweet smelling haven of Marini's so naturally they are sweet when it comes to service and attention to details. A lot of the time, you can see the employees working the taffy machine or making some other delectable treat which is pretty nifty when waiting in line. Cheap treats. First class service. Close proximity to Boardwalk. When you go here, savor the moment. read more

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I've gotten chocolate covered bacon from here twice. The first, a year ago, was so good! But this last time, the chocolate didn't taste as good. I think they're using cheaper chocolate and the difference is noticeable. The bacon is just as good though! For the price, $7 for 1/4 pound, I would expect a higher quality chocolate. We had been dreaming of the chocolate bacon ever since we bought it the first time, so we made sure to stop by to pick some up when we went to visit Santa Cruz, but after this last purchase, we won't be coming here again. it's not worth it for price unless they use a better tasting chocolate. It tasted like kinda stale, cheap knockoff Hershey's kisses chocolate. I think next time we'll make our own! There's plent of locations that sell the chocolate covered bacon on the boardwalk, so skip the line if that's all you're after. There's also a location downtown. read more

What's a trip to the Boardwalk if you don't get sweets! I really liked this place and the good variety of sweets. I would have given them 5 stars if it wasn't for the girls working there. I got a caramel apple, some salt water taffy (their specialty), and some chocolate covered bacon! BACON?! Yes, bacon and it was oh so yummy! It's actually a really good combination and the way the bacon crunches in your mouth while the chocolate melts is great! So no complaints on the sweets! It did go down hill when my sister ordered her cherry candy. While I was being helped another girl helped her so I couldn't point out to her that the prices were by 1/4 or 1/2 pound (I forgot what it was). Being like most teens who don't really pay attention she thought the price was for a pound so that's what she ordered. Once she saw how much it was going to be and how much candy it was (she didn't want too much) she called me over. She is also shy at times and explained to me what happen and I asked the girl if she could please have less. I understand there was a policy that candy could not be returned but she was just so mean about it! She rolled her eyes called another girl over to tell her while the other girl (manager perhaps?) said it was ok. But while she was putting the untouched candy back she was huffing and puffing like that was her job! We both loved the sweets but how about being a little nicer!! You would think that tourist attractions would hire nicer people! read more

Marini's At the Beach - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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What a great little find after sea lion viewing. I had a white chocolate, caramel, peanut apple. When ordering, I told the employee I needed this apple in my life. It was true! read more

Marini's At the Beach - Caramel, white chocolate, peanut apple. Yes! - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Ah cant leave the boardwalk without stopping by here! Ive been coming here since I was a kid & I still come here now - with my kid. All I ever get is the taffy. I just get a bunch of it and have the bag sealed, then I enjoy it when Im at home. Theres alot of other candies, chocolates and stuff. But I only want the taffy. I did try the chocolate covered bacon, its was alright - something I can easily duplicate at home. But it was one of those novelty items I just had to try. Ive never had any custome service issues and always been greeted with a smile. I admit I enjoy watching the taffy machine pull the taffy, theres something soothing about it. :) read more

They have lots of different varieties of tasty fudge, candles, brittle & taffy. Its a must visit place when in Santa Cruz.

Great yummy treats but I paid $7 for a mocha frappe and the girl argued with me that it doesn't come with whip cream. I said no problem at all, but your picture shows it... sorry $7 and she's going to tell me "I'm seeing things" that's why you get 2 stars... better service would get you better reviews. Just sayin. read more

Marini's At the Beach - She said only the hot one comes with whip cream, I'm seeing things. Service wasn't great. Sorry... :/ - Candy Stores Near Me - Santa Cruz, California