Candy Central
Hundreds of uncommon sweets are piled high at The Farris Wheel.
As Halloween creeps closer, grocery stores are stocking their shelves with mega doses of M&Ms, Nerds, and a kaleidoscope of orange and black name-brand goodies. For more experimental candy connoisseurs, The Farris Wheel, located at the corner of Central and Rock Road in east Wichita, offers a dizzying array of delightful alternatives.
No, the owners didn’t misspell the name. The store takes its title from Farris Farha, who opened the store with wife Karen in 2006. The shop offers more than 450 candies, nuts and mixed treats in 90 bulk bins from the center of the store and around the space’s colorful periphery.
There’s licorice from Australia, Finland, Holland, Spain and Ireland. Caramels come in flavors such as mint chocolate, Kahlua cream and vanilla nut. There’s taffy, Jordan almonds, cinnamon bears and butter mints. Nuts come with salt, without salt, in pieces, slivers, slices, halves and wholes. Individual gourmet truffles in golden boxes ($3.95) flaunt flavors like black forest, champagne, coconut cream, fudge and peanut butter.
If you’d rather stick with the old faithfuls, you’ll find Clark bars, chocolate coins, and Juice-filled Nik-L-Nip wax bottles. There is also a wide sugar-free selection. And here’s the best part—samples are free. The Farhas scoop sweet treats into white paper cups to tempt customers.
We like to think it’s an experience,” says Karen. “It’s fun to watch people come in here because they’re always smiling when they leave.” —S.J.C.
Must-Have of the Month:
Indiana Jones Hat, Hatman Jack’s
(601 W. Douglas Ave., 316-264-4881)
The success of the latest Indiana Jones film means one thing this Halloween: whip-cracking anthropologists are likely to be everywhere.
To top off the costume’s beige Boy Scout button down, khaki pants, leather jacket, messenger bag and whip, head to Hatman Jack’s in Delano to find Indy’s fedora. Jack’s offers the hat in fur felt and wool, but store clerk Rachelle LeValley says that for authenticity’s sake, fur is the way to go. “Indiana Jones definitely wore felt,” LeValley says. “It’s more pliable yet holds up under moisture.”
Although Harrison Ford made the hat a hit in recent decades, the fedora traces its roots to early-20th century American cities. It was stylish but practical—the crease in the crown made it easy to fold and tuck into a pocket.
If, like some movie critics, you’re weary of Indiana Jones’ escapades, don the fedora with a trench coat and trick-or-treat as Al Capone, or hone your best Brooklyn accent and masquerade as Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. This hat’s a hit for Halloween and beyond.
>> Fur felt fedora, $109; wool fedora, $44.
