The Sweetest Thing.(Dylan's Candy Bar, Economy Candy and Chocolate Bar retail stores, New York, New York)(Brief Article)

As if a giant statue of a bunny in the center of the store weren't enough, DYLAN'S CANDY BAR (1011 Third Ave., 646-735-0078) has its own infomercial playing on a screen between the ice-cream counter and a cotton-candy machine. "Depressed? Need a boost? Have some candy!" one woman shopper says. "I feel like a kid in a candy store, literally," another says. The shop, co-owned by the designer Ralph Lauren's daughter, Dylan, is organized, like a department store, into little boutiques. Songs like "Sugar, Sugar" and "Honey Pie" play on a continuous loop. Upstairs, the bulk bins are filled with gummy teeth, worms, and bears ($4.25 per half pound). But downstairs, each patch of wall space is expertly arranged with a different candy brand, from Pez dispensers (including a Santa whose head is made of Swarovski crystal) to custom M&M's (in colors like aqua green, teal green, green, and dark green). A wall covered with Chupa Chups--Spanish lollipops that come in ice-cream flavors--proves that candy is all about packaging. For example, there's the Tool Pop ($3.49), a Swiss Army Knife-like device that features low-tech plastic scissors, a magnifying glass, an eraser, a tiny, easy-to-lose pen, a tape dispenser, and a small compartment for a lollipop.

ECONOMY CANDY (108 Rivington St., 254-1531), run by Jerry Cohen and his wife, Ilene, doesn't quite have the same Willy Wonka flair as Dylan's. It's a place where a jar of cornichons ($2.99) shares floor space with El Bubble cigars (a box of thirty-six is $7.95). The Cohens' specialty is halvah--the Middle Eastern snack made of crushed sesame seeds, dried eggs, vegetable oil, and sugar--which comes in tubs and loaves, in vanilla, in marble, in ...