Schmidt’s Candy Has Been Making Hand-Pulled Candy Canes for Nearly 90 Years

Photo by Ed Lefkowicz
Handmade nonpareil Christmas wreaths are stored in a galvanized bin dating back to the 1920s when Frank Schmidt’s founded Schmidt’s Candy on Jamaica Avenue.
Photo by Ed Lefkowicz
Sugar, corn syrup and water, enough for 5 pounds of candy, are boiling in a copper kettle.
Photo by Ed Lefkowicz
Schmidt checks the temperature of the boiling candy.
Photo by Ed Lefkowicz
The candy is lopped over a wall hook and pulled and stretched repeatedly. As it cools and air is incorporated, it gets progressively lighter in color, eventually becoming almost white.
Photo by Ed Lefkowicz
A stripe of red is lain over the lighter candy.
Photo by Ed Lefkowicz
Candy canes are formed by hand, and bear little resemblance to the uniform, machine-made candy canes found in stores.
Photo by Ed Lefkowicz
A group of recently-shaped candy canes on the marble.
Photo by Ed Lefkowicz
Schmidt in the store with a photo of her grandfather Frank Schmidt, who founded the store in 1925.
Photo by Ed Lefkowicz
The store interior has some of its original showcases, along with showcases salvaged from shops that have long since gone out of business.
Photo by Ed Lefkowicz
The Schmidts store front in Woodhaven.