Feature Photo by Cole Kachejian
If you’re of the nostalgic kind, and to an extent, even if you’re not, it’s always fun to visit a general store. There are not many around anymore. Long Island, New York, is home to a couple of them. But rather than talking about those other general stores, I’m going to focus on the store this article is all about: Bobb Howard’s General Store in New Hyde Park is unlike any general store I’ve ever been to. It’s not a general store in the sense of wooden steps and a swinging chair on the porch; dim lights and a narrow staircase. No, this is a general store attached to an automotive garage. The automotive garage is not just a part of the history; in fact, it’s the beginning of the history.
On a recent visit to the store, I spoke at length with owner Eileen Caplin Wysel. Her father opened the automotive garage back in October of 1946. The garage was named after her older brother, Bobb Howard Kaplan. Long Island was a very different world back in the 1940s, and automotive garages were in short supply, as were convenience stores. From the start, the business that Eileen’s father had built would become an essential part of the community. Many years later, in 1982, Eileen decided to convert the convenience store attached to the garage into a good old-fashioned candy store. For the past 50 years, Eileen and her husband, Ronnie, have been running a store filled with nostalgia that makes old men cry the minute they walk in. I can vouch for that because I am one of them.
Feature Photo by Cole Kachejian
It’s interesting, but one of the reasons Eileen pursued the old-style candy store was to get kids away from the computer world, video games, and electronics and to bring kids back into an old-fashioned candy store-style place where they can touch the past, taste the past, and celebrate reality, if you know what I mean. But what’s so ironic is that it’s the internet now that is bringing people from around the country, and even further, into her store for the opportunity to purchase old candies and toys. As much as Eileen and Ronnie’s store is such an important part of the community, they have, in fact, in some sort of fashion changed what the word community actually means. And I think it’s a good thing. Nonetheless, let’s talk about what it’s like visiting this store.
Feature Photo by Cole Kachejian
First and foremost, what is most noticeable right from the start are the owners; Eileen and Ronnie instantly reminded me of the old-school candy store owners from the Bronx. Full of personality, full of knowledge, and of course very welcoming. This is something that’s missing today. Walk into a 7-Eleven or Walgreens and try to start a conversation with a person behind a counter, and you’re lucky if they even look at you. Eileen brings back the old way, when people spoke to each other.
This was my first time there, and she talked to me like she knew me forever. I can only imagine what she’s like with the regulars. Any question I had for her, any topic I brought up, she loved to talk about. And it wasn’t just a one-way conversation. She asked me questions about my past, the candies and toys I’ve loved, and where I’m from. She was a good listener. Try to find that somewhere else. This was someone who loved her work. And she also mentioned that her father was the same way, as was her mother, and, of course, her husband, Ronnie. It’s pretty special when you walk into a business, any type of business, and the people who own it love it and are there all the time. They are not hiring kids who are always on their phones to work there. No, this is a place where the owners are there all day long.
Bobb Howard’s General Store is a mix of old-school candy, modern candy, old-school toys, and, to some extent, modern toys. When we’re talking old-school candy, of course we’re talking about candy that is now being reproduced again. For example, I purchased two Reggie Bars. These were candy bars produced in 1978 and later discontinued. So obviously I’m not buying Reggie Bars from 1978 and then going out to the parking lot to eat them. That wouldn’t really be a good idea. No, these are bars being reproduced again with their original flavors and original packaging. The thing is, you can’t find these anywhere; Eileen has to order them from special places. She has the connections; she gets them in the store, and then when someone like me walks in and sees the Reggie Bar, that’s when the tears begin to flow. But of course there’s so much more than just the Reggie Bar.
There was one candy I mentioned that I knew was discontinued, and I know they have never reproduced it. When I mentioned that particular candy, she looked at me, smiled, and showed me a secret stash that contained them. These were obviously actually from that time. And she can’t sell them, but she had them; it was the first time I had seen them since the seventies. They were chocolate flavored, and I’ll let you figure out what candy I’m talking about.
Feature Photo by Cole Kachejian
I can go on and on, talking about all the wonderful items for sale in this store. Old-school cigar bubble gum, chocolate cigars, candy cigarettes, Gold Rush bubble gum—the list goes on and on. Vintage toys, posters, and signs. Many original items and, of course, many reproductions. And the reproductions are good because they’re affordable; that’s what’s so wonderful about this store. Eileen and Ronnie are very fair with their prices. It’s not just a nostalgia store; it’s a candy store, it’s a still-functioning candy store where you can buy tons of different candies, and it’s very affordable.
It’s the store itself, not just the items in it, that is nostalgia. It is Eileen, her husband Ronnie, the people working in the garage, the customers that come in to get their cars fixed, the regulars coming in to buy candy; it’s all a still-working, old-school candy store that is still a major part of the community but of course, has gone viral on the internet because of what it’s selling. People are actually coming from far, far away to visit this place. When you see it from the outside, it’s just a garage, but when you walk in the door, it is a magical yet very modern place, and what fuels this old-school general store is the people behind it. It’s the owners who have had this in their family for 80 years. It’s a place of wonder, it’s a place of love, and it’s oh so sweet.
Feature Photo by Cole Kachejian
