Step through the doors of Crown Candy Kitchen and you’re stepping back in time. Open since 1913, this family-owned soda fountain and lunch counter in Old North St. Louis has been serving up nostalgia — and some of the city’s most beloved treats — for over a century.
The first thing you’ll notice is the décor: vintage Coca-Cola signs, old-fashioned booths, and a marble counter where malts and sundaes are still made by hand. The menu is a delightful mix of hearty sandwiches (their BLT is legendary) and decadent desserts, but it’s the malts — thick, creamy, and served in tall glasses with the metal mixing cup on the side — that keep people coming back generation after generation.
Crown Candy Kitchen isn’t just about the food, though. It’s a gathering place where time slows down, conversations linger, and regulars greet each other like family. The famous “5 Malt Challenge” — finish five malts in 30 minutes — is a rite of passage for the brave (and the sweet-toothed).
In a world where so much has changed, Crown Candy has held onto what matters: quality, tradition, and a sense of community. It’s a sweet reminder that sometimes the simplest pleasures make for the richest memories, making it a hidden gem in every sense.
