Norway native opens New England’s largest candy store in Wiscasset

Wiscasset Sweetz & More owner Steve Jackson and store manager Saundra Green Jason Claffey / The Times Record

Things are a whole lot sweeter at the former Big Al’s Super Values store on Route 1 in Wiscasset.

The 8,100-square-foot Sweetz & More in Wiscasset is the largest candy store in New England. Jason Claffey / The Times Record

Sweetz & More, New England’s largest candy store covering 8,100 square feet, opened Saturday at the site and Big Al himself couldn’t be more excited for the reincarnation of his landmark store, which closed in January 2022 after 35 years in business.

“I wanted something that I thought would enhance the town, that would be a destination in town like I was,” said Al Cohen, who still owns the building and leased it to Steve Jackson, owner of four other Sweetz & More stores in New Hampshire. “I think he’s the right guy to make it an attraction.”

Cohen said he received three other offers to lease the building but was most impressed with Jackson and signed a deal with him.

“He’s made a beautiful store,” Cohen said. “He sells over 800 kinds of sodas. He sells 100-some-odd kinds of Pez, 30 kinds of popcorn, 25 kinds of cotton candy. Where else can you go see that amount of sweet and delicious things in one place?”

Jackson said he’s honored to continue Cohen’s legacy.

“He really cares about the town,” Jackson said. “He was looking for something that could do for Wiscasset what he did for so many years.”

Some of the more than 7,500 products offered at the Wiscasset Sweetz & More include these Super Mario candies. Jason Claffey / The Times Record

Jackson, who grew up in Norway, Maine, and was well-acquainted with Big Al’s from his annual family vacations to Boothbay Harbor, has high hopes for his store.

“I think it will be an ongoing success like Big Al’s was for 30 years,” Jackson said. “I hope that I can cater to the locals as well as to the tourists during the summer months, because the locals will be what keeps us going. If they find their favorite (candy), whether it’s nonpareils, root beer barrels or Atomic Fireballs, they’ll come in often. When family and friends come into town, we’ll be a destination.”

Sweetz & More features more than 7,500 products and an ice cream bar with 30 flavors. Some of the more unique items? A Warheads-flavored pickle-in-bag, a 5-pound gummy bear and Lil’ Nitro — a $10 gummy bear billed as the world’s hottest at 9 million Scoville units, which is about 900 times hotter than a jalapeño pepper.

“It’s an assortment of basically everything you can find in the world and we’re still expanding,” said store manager Saundra Green, noting they are awaiting more products on backorder. “We have candies you haven’t seen since your grandparents were kids.”

The store is open year-round with a staff of 25-30.

For Jackson, who has been in the candy business since college, it’s the continuation of a lifelong passion.

“My motto is, ‘Making the world a sweeter place, one day at a time,'” he said.