sugar rush

Big Top Candy Shop unwrapped: A throwback in time nestled among South Congress boutiques

Does anyone really need to buy candy? I found myself asking this very question as I opened the door to the Big Top Candy Shop, a throwback in time nestled among South Congress boutiques that’s filled with rows of boxed candy, baskets of bubble gum, bins of taffy and an old-fashioned soda fountain bar.

The amount of sugar and sweets packed inside this store is astounding — more than two thousand kinds of wrapped or pre-packaged candy and more than two hundred types of bulk candy, which is priced by the quarter pound. Wii Gum Balls? Squirrel Nut Zippers? Or Choco Rocks? The delight is in the discovery.

Sweets Only

Brandon Hodge thought about attracting more business to his toy store, Monkey See, Monkey Do!, by selling candy, but the more he considered the idea, the more he realized that a store totally devoted to candy — something Austin was missing at the time — would be a draw to the community and surrounding businesses.

“I traveled a lot and observed other candy stores in other cities, and one thing that struck me is that so many of them were afraid to over-commit. They would sacrifice candy display space for ‘country crafts’ or Beanie Babies or whatever else they thought they could sell better than candy, yet their signs said they were candy stores,” he says. “I vowed to sell sugar and sweets only at Big Top, and not dilute it with toys — I had a toy shop for that.”

“Nostalgia is a very, very powerful force. At Big Top, we provide that on multiple levels, from the vintage circus and sideshow atmosphere to the old-time candies we offer and the soda fountain, which appeals to older generations much more acutely than the new.” - Brandon Hodge

In 2007 Big Top opened its doors. The space, which Hodge designed inside and out, is about twice the size of an average candy store, and it allows for the amazing amount of goods. Hodge, who is also a freelance game designer and pursues other interests such as writing and collecting, spends most of his afternoons scouting for new merchandise, placing orders and building displays.

“I know of a few candy stores that keep the staggering amount of inventory as Big Top,” says Hodge. “If there are 21 individually-wrapped flavors of Now & Laters and one distributor only carries 7, you can bet I’ll spend my days hunting down other distributors who can provide me with the missing flavors.”

With my seven-year-old son and his friend in tow, we strolled around the shop, amazed at the options. We headed to the bulk area, and I let each boy fill a bag with goodies. As they eyeballed the manna — Green Apple Sours, Candy Blocks (they look like LEGO pieces), Cry Baby Tears, Wonka Rants, Toxic Waste Short Circuits, Milk Chocolate Gummy Bears — I realized what was happening. They were making memories.

A time to remember

“Nostalgia is a very, very powerful force,” Hodge explains. “At Big Top, we provide that on multiple levels, from the vintage circus and sideshow atmosphere to the old-time candies we offer and the soda fountain, which appeals to older generations much more acutely than the new.”

As I waited in line to place an order at the soda fountain, I could hear nearby patrons commenting on a favorite gum from their past (the Yardstick) or a candy they hadn’t seen in a while. According to Hodge, they field requests “every six seconds or so.” The Clove/Blackjack/Beeman gums are highly sought-after items as are Wonka Bars.

Two young boys looked extremely happy when I handed over their Rootbeer Italian Cream Sodas. The grins were contagious. I smiled after the first sip of my Cherry Lime and remembered the fountain drinks I used to get at a drugstore in Rio Hondo, a small South Texas town where my mother coached basketball when I was a toddler.

“Given that I own a lot of antique candy-making equipment, including a full-on taffy rig from the turn of the century, you’d think we would do more. And we will.” - Hodge

Making candy

As I was enjoying my reverie, I zeroed-in on the chocolate bar. It is here — as with the soda fountain drinks — that Hodge and his team get to create their own masterpieces.

Offerings include Mint Soufflé Bark, Sea Salt Caramel Truffle, and White Russian Truffle, but the Chocolate Covered Bacon is Big Top’s claim to fame. In fact, sometimes Hodge can’t keep up with demand. That said, he’d like to make more of his own candy. “Given that I own a lot of antique candy-making equipment, including a full-on taffy rig from the turn of the century, you’d think we would do more. And we will.”

The boys made their way outside to cull through their bags in search of the perfect piece of candy — they were each allowed to have one. We decided to wait until we got home, which would provide a better atmosphere to spread the bounty around for careful consideration. This was serious business, after all.

As they trotted down South Congress, excitedly talking about Wii levels and Big Top, I realized that I’d had just as much fun as they’d had — and that every once in a while, a Marshmallow Pop Scooby-Doo! or a Giant Jawbreaker is just what you need.

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Belles of the Ballroom

9 Austin bar and venue experts take over popular Old Austin space near UT

29th Street Ballroom/Facebook

Changes are coming at the 29th Street Ballroom, but the goal is to preserve what already makes it special.

The evolution continues at the 29th Street Ballroom, the music venue formerly attached to Spider House Café. It's no secret, Resound Presents CEO and co-founder Graham Williams says, that he and a large team of other industry pros are taking over the space; but now they're ready to talk about what comes next for the venue and adjoining bar.

Although Spider House Café closed in 2020, the Ballroom stayed open, and has continued serving University of Texas students and anyone else who wants to see a show outside of the ordinary: punk shows, burlesque revues, fundraisers, and more. It'll stay open through most of the renovations, scheduled through January of 2025, and is expected to hold a grand opening in March.

Now Resound — one of Austin's top live music organizers, which was itself born from the ashes of another Austin institution — is lending two of its co-founders to managing the space going forward: Williams and Ian Orth. They're joining seven other team members from venues around town, many of them overlapping: Amy Mullins, Brian Tweedy, Jason McNeely, John Yaklin, and Shannon LeBoeuf of Hotel Vegas, Chess Club, Kinda Tropical, Tweedy’s, and Yellow Jacket Social Club, in varying capacities; and Brian Buscemi and Mike Sanchez of the Little Darlin’.

Williams emphasizes that although things will be changing at the Ballroom, the goal isn't to change anything people already love.

"Over the next few months as we kind of ease into the spring, we're using this downtime to revitalize things, decorate, revamp some of the stuff in the venue and the bar, and just kind of get things moving in the right direction," Williams says, "taking what's already popular about the venue and just adding to it, really."

Bar updates
The biggest shift will be turning the bar from an accessory to live shows into its own entity that's open even when there's nothing else going on. Amy Mullins, best known as a co-owner of Yellow Jacket Social Club, is overseeing that transition. She's never operated a venue that is primarily focused on music, and has been enjoying learning more about how to do it; she even worked the door recently when a staff member called out sick.

Mullins echoes Williams in assuring that the change is more about logistics than tone. It'll still feel like Old Austin, but she does express a hope to run more than the "typical venue bar," handing out simple drinks as quickly as possible. She's working on a new menu that includes wine, beer, craft cocktails, and non-alcoholic options like tea, kombucha, or mocktails. Regardless of what's on the schedule on any given night, Mullins says the menu will stay the same.

"There's no drink too complicated for us to make, however busy we are," she says.

Food options
Another goal for the team will be making sure the space works when there's not someone onstage to crowd around. They'll expand the front and side patios and create a food truck food court that features the same trucks that are there now, plus one newcomer. All in all, that includes Yalla Burger & Wings, Gyro Center, Li’l Nonna’s Vegan Pizzeria, Guppy’s Indian Fried Chicken, Waylon J’s BBQ, and Ay Chihuahua Tacos.

The expanded patio will connect to Tweedy's Bar next door, which also has its own food trucks. The idea is to create a space to hang out after shows that feels fit for the purpose. It's possible to stick around after events now, but the layout does create a vague feeling of loitering.

Artist and fan-friendly tweaks
On the entertainment side, Williams says some of the renovations include putting in a new sound system, redoing the green room, updating the facade, and repainting signs. Since the winter is a slower time for live music, they'll be taking advantage of the extra time to work on things before packing the calendar with more events than before. Resound will handle most of the bookings in live music, comedy, and DJ sets, welcoming both national and local talent.

Whatever the details end up being, this team has proved to Austinites that they know how to run venues worth visiting. And since they're all friends and business partners on multiple levels, it sounds like having this many cooks in the kitchen just isn't an issue.

"Some of us have been roommates and known each other since we were young," says Williams. "It's a good mix of people who are all very like minded, so a lot is being brought to the table per decision. So yeah, it's it's really exciting. Sometimes that's not the case. .... But with this project, it's a lot of really great, creative people that are good at what they do [and] they trust each other."

bars live music concerts comedy