toys – Yeah Write Mark

A Sweet Local Business That Needs Some Love Right Now

Since what seems like forever now, Tucson has been a shining hot bed of road construction. Like the kind of intrusive breaking and building of asphalt and concrete that sends normal commuters into the wee stratospheres of quaint neighborhoods where you make ten right turns, roll over speed humps the size of sleeping giants, engage with a wizard high on meth to get the secret code to open the portal of “Oh god I just want to get to work/home…where the fxxk am I?” before you finally get on a stretch that resembles some form of safe thoroughfare only to find more road construction. In that case just park your rig, get out, meander into the desert, become one with the sand and saguaros, find peace with your imminent demise before making friends with a family of javalinas who take you in as one of theirs after you gain their trust living your last days naked and feral but happy because road construction does not exit out here in the wasteland.

Your family will understand.

Yes, the ever-present and never-ending street rehabilitation that goes on here in the Old Pueblo is staggering. So many businesses have suffered because of it. Heck my local health food store where I refill our water bottles is always under threat of it and the usual cool and calm hippies that run the shop scowl and have some choice words. Cursing and scowling hippies. It has come to that.

They snap, they crackle and they, um…do something else too

Right now, the 22^nd street bridge that links so many avenues and, yes, local businesses, is closing for 3 YEARS which is, and already has, affected said avenues and businesses.

In fact, one of my favorite shops in town has gotten the word out that it may in fact close its doors for good because of the bridge closure. This is absolutely rotten news if it comes to fruition because this place is not just unique but a necessity for a Gen X dork like me.

The Purple Penguin is a candy shop that is unlike any other in town. Not only for its wide selection of treats and sweets but the fact that most of the variety it boasts is a throwback to golden ages of yesteryear delectables. What I mean is that you can find candy here that is from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s…you get the idea.

That’s right.

Not too sure if kids today would get this concept

I haven’t had Big League Chew since I was a little boy, but Purple Penguin sure carries it. Whatchamacallits, Pop Rocks, Hubba Bubba, and, yes, Lik ‘Em Sticks, aka Fun Dips. You know that slightly flavored sugar that you, well, lick a stick and then you dip in packs of colored sucrose then get super high because this was basically cocaine lite for kids. Yeah. Awesome.

There are bins and bins of wrapped candy that you pay for by the pound, the perfect spot to load up for a birthday, Christmas and of course Halloween. There are shelves lined with delicious sodas and if you are a Harry Potter fan this is the place to visit since there are all sorts of treats and toys from that franchise.

As a big D&D player and old school video game fan I was happy to see sweet nibbles locked inside polyhedron dice or tins with Donkey Kong or Link from the Legend of Zelda on them. Theres just so much here. Which is why it is our duty Tucson to keep the doors of the Purple Penguin open. We/you/I need this adventurous venue around.

You work up a thirst eating all that candy

The owner, Gigi Spinks, bought the Purple Penguin nearly two years ago from the original owner who opened the shop in 2019. Gigi herself has been a longtime customer and was thrilled to be handed the keys to a local legacy.

But now, with all of that noise going on down her street and closures happening every hour on the hour it seems, the Purple Penguin is struggling to keep its doors open. Which totally sucks. Tell me where in Tucson can I go and get retro candy as well as socks, sarsaparilla, geeky merch, toys and stickers while being surrounded by classic games, memorabilia and rotary pay phones? Nope. Can’t think of a place. If you know of one, well, I don’t want to know. Because the Purple Penguin is my go to locale for such happy time bits and bites.

[For my younger readers out there, a rotary phone is, uh, oh never mind. You probably don’t know what a pay phone is either, so I’ll just stop here and continue to be middle aged.]

Like said in one of my all-time favorite movies, Back to the Future, “Save the clock tower! Save the clock tower!” Only this time we need to save the Purple Penguin. Okay, its still open but we need to make sure that it remains that way. In fact, when I was last there the shelves and bins were a little empty. Gigi said that with the help of local bloggers and a feature on KGUN9 news, there recently was a rush of folks coming in to see what was going on and to buy up as much as they could. That’s awesome. I wasn’t alone on that last visit as there was a decent crowd of new and regular customers looking around and filling their baskets.

Let’s make sure it stays that way.

There you have it Tucson: The Purple Penguin. You know what to do. Go now, load up, keep a local business alive and feel good about yourself. Well, unless you eat too many Laffy Taffys and Abba Zabbas. Then you gotta listen to the songs of the Oompa Loompas. You know what I’m talking about.

“What do you get when you guzzle down sweets?”

That’s on you though. You’re a grown-up. Thing is, the Purple Penguin makes us all feel like kids again. In times like these, we all need some sweet relief and good ‘ol timey fun.

Cheers!