Sweet Josie's candy shop is top on our list to visit every time we visit York. There is NO OTHER candy store anywhere else in Maine worth visiting. The homemade fudge is to die for, so creamy and so many flavors. How could anyone ever decide on one? From the jelly bean floor to the adorable displays, to the over flowing well stocked and displayed candy bins. Did I mention the icecream? There is nothing better on a hot summer day than a cone from Josie's. For a real treat bring to kids along to see who might be dancing out front of the store. Is it a lobster? A shark? A Hershey kiss? A unicorn? It's always a surprise and a great family photo moment. Be sure to drop by to see Kathy and her fabulous crew!! Carol H. read more

Thomas K, I was actually in the store last night when you were here to say the least you were very disturbing to a lot of people in the store with your political views. This store has never asked a kid to leave ever, I have never seen such a grumpy old obnoxious individual since the 80s, and I've been coming here for the last 30 years with my children and now my grandchildren. They always go out of their way to make sure everybody is accommodated and they even set up face painting and tattoos for the kids outside. This is a very welcoming store to all and a family candy store in downtown York Beach, Maine. Considering you came in so hot with that hat on and you were definitely trying to make a political statement in a candy store that caters to families. read more

Sweet Josies Candy Shop - Always a great assortment of candy, ice cream, and slush. - Candy Stores Near Me - York, Maine

Sweet Josie's Candy Shoppe is a seasonal confectionery shop and ice cream parlor that opened in York, Maine in 1980. It was founded by Margaret "Peggy" Shaheen Fennelly, who named it for her mother Josephine "Josie" Skeip Shaheen. The shop specializes in over 60 flavors of homemade fudge, old-fashioned hard candies, gummies, saltwater taffy, and other classic candies. The shop also serves Gifford's brand ice cream and Richie's brand Italian ice. After Peggy passed away in 2021, the shop was taken over by her daughter Kathleen Fennelly Perez and her husband Jose. As of 2025, Sweet Josie's is now under new ownership. The shop operates from late April through mid October. My family and I recently visited Sweet Josie's this summer while we were spending the week in York. We were really impressed with the interior of the shop; it was so colorful. All of the candy looked so delicious, especially the fudge! However, we were actually on the hunt for some delicious ice cream. After looking over all of the flavors, I got a cup of "Dinosaur Crunch" (blue vanilla ice cream, fudge swirl, chocolate-covered Rice Krispies), my wife had a cup of "Sea Salt Caramel Truffle", and our sons both had cups of "Cookie Monster". That ice cream really hit the spot; it was exactly what we were looking for. The next time we make a trip to York, we'll have to stop at Sweet Josie's again and try out their homemade fudge! read more

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So friendly. Soooooo delicious. So kind. I love them. You have to come visit!!!!!! I love you guys read more

Sweet Josies Candy Shop - Candy Stores Near Me - York, Maine

Sweet Josie's is a cute mom & pop candy shop located in York, Maine. It is in the downtown area very close to ample parking. My partner and I were in search of some fudge for a Mother's Day gift. We walked in as the usual one she goes to across the street wasn't open for the season yet. Walking in we were greeted by a very welcoming atmosphere- adorned with many colorful decorations befitting of a candy shop. Further, we were immediately greeted by a staff member of the shop. This woman was extremely kind (I wish we knew her name!) and since we were not familiar with the shop, she helped familiarize us with the flavors Sweet Josie's has. They have a wonderful selection with many kinds of peanut butter, vanilla, chocolate, caramel and more for flavors. They even have a 'Cookie Monster' flavor that takes its color and decor scheme from the character! We were able to quickly make some choices while hearing some good conversation about local lore and stories about the shop. We went about our way much better for it, too, and it made my partner and I's day going in there. So next time the usual store is closed, try the one nearby you never have. You might be pleasantly surprised! read more

The owner is extremely rude. The fudge doesn't taste fresh. Almost like it was made with powder. I felt bad got 1 piece but ill never go back. I went across the street to Johnnys Candy Corner and got the same fudge. Better tasting and so fresh. Got some home made chocolate covered fruits as well many options on the boardwalk. read more

This is the best dodge I ever had. I highly recommend this shop. The owner is so friendly and helpful. I won't go anywhere else.

Absolutely love this location in downtown. They have a great selection with fast and friendly service. Ask for the bags from the counter.

They make their Dubai chocolate squares from scratch with ingredients from Dubai. It's creamy and crunchy and delicious! The pistachio flavor is not overwhelming. We also got fudge and candy I frankly appreciate their "parents scoop and bag for kids" policy. Less waste and chaos that way! read more

The high school/college staff that work here are friendly and do a great job. The older dark haired lady managing the store, not so much. She is consistently rude! Update: clearly not open to feedback based on odd and sarcastic responses. read more

I absolutely love this shop! It's clean and so friendly. The owner is fabulous. I really appreciate when I came in with my niece and nephews that they asked me to scoop candy and offered to help with the other kids! read more

Literally the best fudge around. Place looks better than anywhere else on the beach, and the staff is nicer than at Chic-fil-a. What more could you want? read more

Upon first glance this appears to be a promising shop. The unpleasant, rude older woman working there makes it anything but. Seems odd to hate tourists when most of your business depends on them. I went there alone and my brief interaction with her was extremely uncomfortable and left me feeling unsettled. This is the second year in a row I've had a bad experience in this shop. Won't be giving them a third chance. I'm neither suffering nor in pain so no need to wish me freedom. Based on other reviews this is an ongoing issue. Maybe your employee is the one suffering and in pain - I wish her freedom! It must be awful being so grumpy whilst living in such a beautiful place. Update: "Owner Steve" has been sending me rude, trolling messages in response to my negative review calling me "Karen" and a "horrible human." Sheesh. Strange business and even more strange people running the show! Avoid this bizarre shop at all costs!! read more

If you have kids ya gonna love this place. The owner is so nice! We came here in the beginning of the season and watched her fill up the bins. You can get on free tasting! Only one !!! read more

Sweet Josies has the absolute best fudge anywhere! If you find yourself in the area, I would highly recommend a stop at the shop, you will not be disappointed. They have a great selection, and it is always fresh and delicious read more

Came into sweet josie's for some fudge for my parents. the service was great, the shop was clean, and everyone was so nice!! can't wait to have the fudge with my family read more

Service by the owner/manager is awful! She is rude, condescending and bullying. There are other candy shops in the immediate area that have exceptional customer service, that are cleaner and have better offerings. read more

Went in looking for a treat and we got one! The fudge is amazing I had to try 8 different flavors. Great customer service

Ice cream section was closed and the sweet staff still got my kids their ice cream. Made their night. Thank you!!!

I was confused by the process upon entering. It appeared it was self serve but I was informed it is not. The staff seemed annoyed that the kids were attempting to serve themselves. Not sure how to properly convey the process as you enter the store. Maybe just bad timing on my part. This engagement lessened my experience. Otherwise the store is very colorful and inviting outside and in. Tons of candy options to choose from and they had what I think was a unicorn greeting kids, and a temporary tattoo table when we were there. Nice touch. read more

Awesome selection of candy and fudge. Fantastic customer service. We will definitely be back

Oh my god! Some of the best fudge ever made. Will be spending all my money here again. The service is amazing and the people are so friendly and nice. Everything goes so well at this store and I will recommend everyone to this store!!! read more

Grinch! This woman should NOT own or operate anything involving children. It is sad to live down the street and see a business owner treat children and visitors as if they're bothering her and her employees. This summer, 4 years post Covid, a teenage babysitter and 2 yo were in the store, the baby grabbed a wrapped piece of taffy (taffy) and was forcefully demanded to purchase b/c the baby touched it. She had no money, frantically apologized many times. 1 PIECE of taffy... I jumped in to help both her and the baby to cover the $0.15 cost. Not to mention, the child didn't even have 4+ teeth- I bought a candy she could eat and they left almost in tears. Last and final disrespectful behavior I will witness from this hack, leave York please and start your Hansel and Gretel shop in another time zone. There are 2 other candy shops that would love your business at short sands, please go there and dont allow this women to treat children, families, and humans like this anymore! You sell candy not Chanel read more

BE AWARE: Owner HATES children! You would think the amount of 1 stars all saying the same thing about the owner and her treatment of children, she'd get a hint. But alas, here we are! I've been coming to York since I was a kid, and have brought my children since they were all in diapers. We went into this shop today as was IMMEDIATELY put off by the no hand signs on ALL the containers, and the "No fudge samples" or "no ice cream samples" signs. The vibe was already bad. The older woman, who I assume to be the owner, started following us (we had four kids and an infant with us, who were excited about candy). My kids know not to touch candy, and they were being good. And this woman comes behind us and says "we take touching the candy VERY SERIOUSLY especially by children" excuse you? Is this a museum? All this candy is packaged in bins, it's not like they're trying to spit on it! I immediately took my kids and left. We went to Goldenrod where they treat kids as they should. There is also another cute shop across the way from this one where the owners offer samples and have always been kind to my kids when we went in. I have respectful kids but they had $10 I gave to each of them and they wanted to spend it on candy. This owner needs to get a clue, clearly all our one star (should be negative!) about the same kind of rude treatment. I'm guessing all the more than 1-2 stars were customers who didn't have kids. Will never even go near this place again. read more

Sweet Josies Candy Shop - Candy Stores Near Me - York, Maine

Terrible. The staff was incredibly unfriendly. We had our hearts set on homemade taffy but this place was so bad from beginning to end. The taffy was not good at all. Walk right past this place. Hate to write such a bad review but I couldn't believe how awful the staff and taffy was. read more

Sweet Josies Candy Shop - a sign for a saltwater taffy - Candy Stores Near Me - York, Maine

We got some amazing fudge from this place. Just follow the rules and you will be fine. These other people that give one stars are crazy. Bring protective is their right, it is their business, follow the rules they instituted. I'm glad they go the extra mile for my protection. I give them 5 stars!! read more

Sweet Josies Candy Shop - 2 # box of assorted fudge. - Candy Stores Near Me - York, Maine

First things first - every piece of chocolate was DELICIOUS. I was heading up to Maine for a stay with my wife for our anniversary and a google search brought me here -- I called, and despite not currently offering delivery - the owners were so incredibly accommodating that they offered to deliver my order to the Cliff House themselves. We discussed over a few phone calls what they had in the shoppe and what I wanted -- packaged it so beautifully - and left it at the front desk with a note attached. The chocolates were simple delicious. And I ordered 6 or 7 different types. The owners were delightful and appreciative of my shopping with them and could not have been any nicer. 5 Stars All the Way Around. Highly recommended. read more

Sweet Josies Candy Shop - a basket of sweets in a store - Candy Stores Near Me - York, Maine

If I could leave a negative star then I would! The Manager is extremely rude and unwelcoming as soon as you walk in. Her attitude wipes the joy clean of your child's face. You're in the wrong line of business Miss. AKA The Wicked Witch of York! read more

The owner lived up to her negative reviews and rude/aggressive reputation. I am a kind person and usually only take precious time to write positive reviews ! If a business is subpar, I usually just let and go and don't bother return to that particular business. In this case, I made a Yelp account with the sole purpose of writing this review to save others from having to interact with this unhappy, rude woman. (Middle-aged with dark hair - the young teens working were very pleasant) To be clear, the candy in the store is HERS and you should feel grateful that she's letting you buy it. That is the vibe in the store. She reminds me of a child who doesn't like to share their toys at a play date! I visited the store with my family a few weeks ago and as we shopped, she made rude comments and watched us the entire time. I felt like a criminal, even though we followed all of the rules and my children didn't touch a single bin. After numerous condescending and unnecessary comments, I made it clear to her that she lived up to her negative reviews and that I would be writing a review of my own. She proceeded to chase after me onto the sidewalk, demanding that my children tell her what she said that upset us. I told her to speak to me and not my children. She continued to yell at them and so we left while she continued to bellow at us from her front door. I have never encountered a business owner so belligerent and unstable, especially at a sweet shop! Trust the review and avoid this place. I was told by a lady passing by that there is a much friendlier candy store right up the road with far better pricing and a friendly atmosphere. Happy shopping everyone - just not at Josie's. read more

Visited "Sweet Josie's" with my son for the first time today. The place is absolutely adorable. The decorations/ aesthetic is exactly what I would picture when I envision an authentic, homemade sweets shop. Everything seemed very clean and organized. I was welcomed by a friendly woman who I believe must be the owner. She explained how to easily order for fudge, candy or ice cream and at which counter. There was a wide variety of unique flavors to choose from. We could not wait to try some of the fudge and I promise you this is the best fudge I have ever had in my entire life! I will be coming to visit again every time I am in the area! Highly recommend!! read more

I've been coming to this shop for years and years now because the fudge is absolutely delicious, it'a very hard to find a Raspberry Cream fudge with no milk chocolate in it, and this one is by far the best. The other candy in the bins are pretty typical candy you'd find anywhere and it's all fresh from what I've tried. The taffy is standard, nothing special in my opinion but still good. The inside is very cute and always clean, but I'm not sure if it's because I went earlier in the season but the ice cream section was not open when I went, but it has been good in the past. As for the service, they were very nice this time. The last couple of times I've gone in the past, the woman that I'm assuming is the manager was a bit grouchy. I get that post covid a lot of smaller businesses were struggling but being moody towards your customers, especially children in a literal candy store is not going to help business. Again, this time they were very nice, but be cautious if you have very young children as the service attitude is subject to change dramatically. read more

Didn't have the opportunity to purchase anything .. was extremely put off by the customer service, particularly an older woman who I'm guessing might be the owner. I came in to look around and stood by the fudge for a good amount of time waiting to be served. The older woman was talking with an old man and showing him pictures on her phone .. I have no problem with that, but Im standing at the counter for a good amount of time and no one offers to serve or ask if I had any questions. I circled around the store to give her conversation some more time and made my way back to the fudge to again hopefully be served. On my way over she ended her conversation and basically walked through me without even an "excuse me" .. I stood again at the counter as she and a few employees talked with eachother across the store. I worked a lot of retail positions as a teenager and the number one priority told to us was to greet the customer when they enter.. didnt seem like that was relayed here. Giving 2 stars instead of one for an extremely pleasant teenage girl working who held the door open for me. They have the right employees to be successful, it just looks like they need some training read more

Bottom line, this is the best Fudge in York I have ever had. Been buying it for years, me & my family look forward to Josies Sweet treats every vacation. The pumpkin pie fudge I got today was amazing!!! read more

The owner is incredibly rude and unprofessional, and she is a misandrist, only monitoring boys because "they steal, not girls." It's also overpriced...the rest of the staff was fine, the person who cashiered was incredibly friendly, but unfortunately my experience with who I presume to be the owner wasn't very pleasant. read more

I have been coming to York since 2007, early on, Sweet Josie's was a frequent stop for our candy. However once I reached a certain age I realized the owner might actually be evil. I took about an 8 year break from this place due to her rudeness. I came back today, and it seems time did not treat her well. I was forced to check in every time I acquired a new piece of candy simply because "I am a boy", she also informed me "we never do this to girls". I guess we can add sexism to her list of sins. She was also simply rude and abrupt with all of her service. I truly hate the owner, and I noticed a new candy shop opened up next door, as well as Wicked Good Ice Cream being right down the street. Definitely go to those places and not this awful "store". read more

It's hard to NOT notice this store because of its vibrant decor. There were neon signs plastered on the storefront window and a pretty pink bike parked underneath it. When you enter the snug shop, you're greeted with paper mache decor (ranging from different hues of pink) dangling from the ceiling and colorful streamers adorning the sides of the room. So cute!! Though the space was narrow, there were tons of candy on display. Jellybeans, lollipops, gummies- everything! I was particularly fond of the gummy bears section. There were so many unconventional flavors!! To name a few: strawberry banana, pink grapefruit... I honestly couldn't believe it. I also really liked the starfish-shaped gummies they had- they were large with fine sugar-y granules on the outside. Super sweet, but super good! I'd stay away from the rock candy because they didn't taste like the flavors advertised. I had a lime flavored one and it just tasted sweet, nothing else- same with the orange! The service you receive here CAN be a little distant and detached. Aside from that, I'd recommend coming here to satisfy your sweet tooth. There are so many different kinds of candy to choose from! We stopped by on our second night in Maine and revisited​ one more time before we left! read more

Best place ever !!! We buy lots of fudge and have gone to many places but this is the #1 delicious and everyone so polite. It's a very family friendly place.WE LOVE IT !!! From Raymond read more

Stopped in for candy with the family, service was abrupt and not friendly at all. Also the layout for the candy you pay for by the pound and candy that has prices on it is too close in proximity. This causes confusion especially for the younger children. read more

One of our regular stops during our Maine summer trips. Awesome selection of candies, sweets and ice cream. Friendly young ladies working this summer we were impressed with them. I was a bit surprised at their three star rating until I started reading the reviews. The common thread in the negative reviews is being asked not to handle the candy with hands. That is totally understandable - on both sides. The owner doesn't want anyone getting sick from contaminated candies. The customers don't want to get yelled at. They have a sign posted in the door not to touch the candies with their hands. I imagine throwing out a bin of candies hurts profits. Their current solution is workable, having the young ladies watch the customers. Perhaps they could assist the customers to get the candy from the bins or get specialized bins (HEB in Houston has these) that dispense product without touching it. read more

Sweet Josies Candy Shop - Candy Stores Near Me - York, Maine

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what a cute candy store!! It's clean and the staff are so friendly and welcoming!! we got our taffy and shaved ice & we'll be going back for fudge and more sweets!!! Josie's candy store is a must visit while you're at York Beach!! read more