Antique Sweets

No, that's not a statement about the maturity of these candies, cuz let me tell you, chocolate doesn't age like wine. Antique Sweets is the name of a candy shop in Madison, Georgia. I was in Atlanta two weekends ago to see my brother graduate from Emory. We took a day trip to Madison, an historic, beautiful Civil War town a short drive from the ATL. And in a small town with a small downtown, it's impossible to miss the only candy shop. We stopped in...

The storefront

Reasons for entering

You might already be familiar with pralines, a classic candy of the South made with sugar, cream, and often-but-not-always butter. Antique Sweets makes great ones. But here's something they do that I have not seen anywhere else: chocolate-covered pralines. And what really puts this shop over the top is their invention of Bulldog Bites, similar to a turtle, with a caramel-nut layer and milk chocolate over the caramel, and perfectly named for the beloved bulldog all Georgian sports fans proudly don on their shirts, cars, houses, and even underwear.

The candy shop is run by a husband and wife team who seem to love what they do. We studied the cases before deciding to buy out the entire remainder of their chocolate-covered pralines and have them packaged up to fly back with us to California. It wasn't cheap, but we aren't often in The South. Throw in a couple of regular pralines and Bulldog Bites and we were a well-stocked tourist pantry.

L to R: Bulldog Bites, Pralines, Chocolate-Covered Pralines

If you're headed to Atlanta, carve out some time to drive to the Civil War towns of Madison and Social Circle. The homes are beautiful, the roads scenic, and there are chocolate-covered pralines, for goodness sake.

One of the many Civil War era homes just blocks from the candy shop

Where it's happening:
Antique Sweets
132 East Washington Street
Madison, Georgia 30650
(706) 342-0034