NYC Candy

Back in 2011, UK editor Caroline Oakley was visiting me and along our rambles we were standing at the bus stop on 14th street and 6th avenue. She saw an awning across the street with the words "NYC Candy" printed on it in front of a tiny hole in the wall. She got all excited saying "let's get some candy." I had to inform her that the sign was ancient (it was pretty scraggly looking) and that the shop was no longer a candy store but sold luggage and backpacks, which you could see from the outside.

The bus stop is the one at which I await my bus home from picking up books/packages at my po box so I'm there every day or so. I always half-notice the sign. Today, I looked across the street and saw that the old, grayish awning was replaced by a bright orange one still saying NYC Candy and underneath text proclaiming the sale of "cigars soda tobacco cigarettes" --yet the same old back packs and cheap luggage are still on the sidewalk in front of the store and hanging from the ceiling. I haven't yet actually gone to that side of the block to peek inside the space but I'm pretty sure there's no candy in there.

So what's the story here? Do they keep private stashes of candy in a hidden compartment in the back of the space? Do the owners not speak English so hesitate to change the "name" of their shop? I don't even know how long ago there was a candy shop in the space.