Ye Olde Pepper Companie

Great old time candy that I used to get as a kid. Also a nice selection of fresh chocolates. The gingerbread which only comes out seasonally is so good I can’t stop eating it.
And of course Oprah’s favorite pecan turtles are to die for. You can taste the freshness of the caramel and the chunks of pecan are nice and hearty.
The store itself is small inside but the selection of candy is huge and they offer something for everyone.

This is a place my kids always ask to go after events at the House of seven gables or walking from downtown. Unfortunately I don’t eat chocolate but I believe this is an institution in Salem and everything I buy there people love. Classic choices like real ribbon candy and their original blackjacks and gibraltors. There are many different types of turtles and fudge, small candies. Its a kids dream! Prices are reasonable too. Check it out!

We come in to Salem, MA once every year and always stop at Ye Olde Pepper Companie. This candy store has it all. If it’s the busy Halloween Season, plan to wait in line but definitely bring your money and try a little bit of everything. Great gift ideas too.

This place is completely loaded with candy, with a ton of variety. The staff was very friendly and helpful. We picked up a small variety of things. My husband loved the anise mints but I wasn’t as happy with my selections. The pumpkin turtle had an odd flavor and the peanut butter cup was a bit light on the peanut butter.

This place is one of the hidden little gems in Salem. I say hidden, because literally no one told us about this spot while we were on vacation. We got information about some of the typical tourist spots, like the House of the Seven Gables and the Witch Museum. But while we were down by the wharf, we happened to find this place on accident.
It’s tucked away, just a cute, old little storefront. But inside, it’s full of an amazing amount of different candies. Their chocolates are so good! I came back twice before we left, because I kept eating the chocolates that I was saving to bring home as souvenirs. I regret nothing! It’s a neat place to poke around, and the chocolates are really good too. Though, I admittedly can’t comment on Oprah’s favorite turtles, since I 1) don’t care what Oprah has to say about chocolate and 2) don’t like nuts. But this place is definitely worth checking out.
Bonus: they have a really good variety of sugar free items, too.

America’s oldest candy company. Its a cool old time looking shop. They make their candy on site so its overpriced but worth trying out. They are known for their Gibraltars and Black Jacks. They have sugar free options too.

Oprah recommends this place, but what does she know?
They have a sign by their chocolate turtles that says it’s one of her favorite things.
I’m not an Oprah fan.
I don’t care much for her Starbucks Chai, and these turtles didn’t taste fresh.
They tasted like they’ve been sitting around for weeks.
I could have gone to Walmart and gotten the same thing for less than $ 23/​lb.

My husband and I were doing the walking tour around Salem one Saturday afternoon. We stopped in the Salem Visitor’s Center to ask them what some points of interest were. When the lady said that there was the oldest candy store in America my pregnant ears perked up. Hell ya we were going to make that one of our stops! Once inside the store I felt like a child again. The smells were amazing! I asked the lady behind the counter what she recommended. She said that she liked the pecan turtles (which were featured in Oprah Magazine). In the past I had not been a fan of turtles, but I decided to give it a shot because of the recommendation. I also tried the coconut ball that had caramel on the inside. For two pieces of candy the total was almost $ 4 but I guess if anyone knows the candy business it’s these people. After the first bite of my turtle, I fell in love. I am now a turtle fan. The coconut ball was delicious as well. If you are visiting the area I definitely suggest making this one of your stops!

Love this place! Every time we come to Salem we always go here! Chocolate is so good! The owner and workers are lovely. And are always honest on how long the sweets last. Shows they care about their customers. AND THE ARE THE OLDEST CHOCOLATE STORE IN AMERICA!

Great fun. This place was super crowded but the staff handled the crowds beautifully and efficiently and the place was super decked out for Halloween. And ohhh those delicious chocolate covered twinkies! Yum.

«A-​okay.»
This is a cute candy shop known for creating a specific piece of candy, Gibraltar. I tried the Gibraltar but decided not to buy any. The rest of the store is stocked with standard candy store stuff. I bought the gummy lobsters (come in a bag, I’m sure they’re from another manufacturer) and a few chocolate cherries and turtles.
The chocolate was good.
If you’re walking by, go ahead and pop in to grab yourself a little strolling snack. I would not rank this high on the «to see» list.

A Salem Classic. Has great selection and products. Staff are friendly and courteous. You have to swing through when your in Salem.

Do not walk, run to this delicious candy store! Seriously excellent chocolate. And I only used to like See’s Candy, pretty much. But this store has changed that. Try their buttercream chocolates and their salted caramel chocolates. You will not regret.

Right when we walked in, the most amazing chocolate smell filled the room. It was the sweetest smell surely to give your dentist a run for your money. The amount of different candies and chocolates were outstanding and was impossible to take in. The nice lady who was behind the counter was very friendly and welcomed my boyfriend and I in as soon as she saw us. We let her know that we weren’t from the area and asked her for her recommendations. She explained Oprahs favorites, and began listing off the different kinds of turtles as well as her favorites. We finally decided on the turtle with cranberries (can’t remember the name) and the sea turtle which was a dark chocolate turtle with sea salt as well as a bag of New England salt water taffy. She then explained that they sell candy online and SHIP WORLD WIDE. «If you can recover mail, you can have these chocolates sent to you.» It was amazing to see the old candy making machines that they used to use before they decided to expand and just to learn about the history of the candies and the area itself. I highly recommend this place to anyone with a sweet tooth as big as mine. And they can count on me ordering all of those delicious turtles online, bring me some New England chocolate turtles to the Midwest!

The dark chocalate turtles and clusters are incredible. The stuff is extremely friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. I love this place!

Ye Olde Pepper Companie is always on my to-​do list when I go to Salem. I totally buy into the whole tourist, small town thing. I love a small candy shop overstuffed with sweets, and this place has it. I’m not much for gibraltars and blackjacks, but I do love a good turtle. The turtles here are outrageous. They are huge and absolutely loaded with caramel. Like, it’s almost too much. But since «too-​much turtles» don’t *actually* exist, I was all too happy eat a few. My favorite is the dark chocolate-​almond combo — I feel like the harder nut holds up to the caramel especially well.
The other little chocolate confections are great too. I always go for a few creams and truffles. The fudges are a little too rich for my blood, but if you’re the kind of person that always enjoys fudge, you’ll love the selection here.
Take the ferry to Salem at 9:30am, and have some chocolates for brunch on your way into town. You know I won’t judge you.

Ye olde tourist trappe.
This place is pretty much like any other candy shop in a touristy area. The prices are sky high.
Because they claim that the Gibralter was the first commercially made candy in America, I decided to buy it (even though the cost was outrageous). It was interesting, but nothing I’d have to get again. Basically it’s just sugar that’s been flavored with lemon or peppermint and whipped into a flat bar-​like thing. The peppermint is similar to those semi-​soft mints some restaurants give you with the bill.
Four envelopes containing a bar of about 3″ x 1″ of this confection was just under $ 5.00. Not worth it, in my opinion.

The Gibralter in the old time envelope packaging is fantastic! Peppermint and lemon.
My friend’s fudge was one hundred years old, however. Cute shop. Worth a visit. Lots of history to it.
The turtles were really nice and fresh.

Total sugar overload! I like this place so much. Add the fact that this the oldest candy shop in America and I’m in love.
There are so many choices; fudge, chocolate, hard candy, etc. I finally went with the milk chocolate turtles, orange slices and the root beer barrels. They all were double yummy especially the root beer barrels, so good it tastes like an actual root beer and not some funky artificial flavor.
This place can get packed with only 5 people which kinda sucks when you want to browse and everyone is on top of you.
Still a great place and worth a stop.

You know its good when the line is out the door and down the street. We were lucky enough to have gone in here before crowds of people arrived in town. The prices aren’t bad and you can order online after you get home and get jonesing the blackstrap molasses sticks, known as black jacks.
We decided instead of buying cheap candy for the hotel room snacks, as you know you need hotel room snacks, we thought we’d go in there and get them. Hellz yeah, we did and they were gone the next night. We ended up in here a couple of times before left. I had to order online because everyone I gave candy to when i got home wanted more. So, if you can’t get to Salem, get to the website and order some up. www​.pep​per​candy​.net/