Chicago’s Mag Mile Lands Candy Hall of Fame

The National Confectionery Sales Association (NCSA, Cleveland) has selected Chicago as the permanent home of its Candy Hall of Fame Experience. Slated to open in summer 2027, the 60,000-square-foot destination will occupy the top three floors of the six-floor building 830 N. Michigan Ave., on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.

That structure once housed a Uniqlo store in its lower floors, but that retailer vacated the property in 2021, the Chicago Tribune reported in its story on the new HOFE. In its latest incarnation, the structure will have the candy complex on its top three floors, while its bottom floors will house a Chase/J.P. Morgan banking center.

Plans call for the fourth floor of the building to be home to an open-to-all, 20,000-square-foot retail space, with the Candy Hall of Fame and other ticketed attractions on the upper two floors, the newspaper reported.

The Tribune also noted that the candy complex is the latest such development along the Magnificent Mile, which is “moving away from traditional retail outlets in favor of immersive experiences. Many property owners rented out their empty storefronts to experiential tenants such as exhibits on Harry Potter or Prince, or the Museum of Ice Cream in Tribune Tower.”

NCSA officials say though they also considered Orlando and New York for the HOFE, Chicago turned out to be the logical choice.

“For more than a century, Chicago has been home to some of the most iconic names in American candy, including Ferrara, Mars, Brach’s, Tootsie and Wrigley. Even Milton Hershey found his chocolate inspiration in Chicago at the 1893 World’s Fair,” said NCSA Chairman Shelly Clarey. “Establishing the Candy Hall of Fame Experience here reflects the city’s deep connection to the industry and creates a home to celebrate the people who helped build it.”

To develop the complex, NCSA is partnering with Jeff Rubin, who the group described as the creative mind behind such innovative retail concepts as FAO Schweetz and Dylan’s Candy Bar. Rubin will team with experience designer Janet Planet, who has worked for such brands as Nestlé, Wonka, Disney and Marvel, and David Korins, a Broadway set designer who’s worked on “Hamilton” and “Beetlejuice.”