Dolle’s Candyland Dates Back To 1910

Dolle’s Candyland Dates Back To 1910
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Rudolph Dolle founded Dolle’s Candyland on the Boardwalk at Wicomico Street in 1910 and his son, Rudy, turned it into an Ocean City tradition. Salt water taffy was the signature item and by the early 1920s Dolle’s also advertised, “Popcorn sent in air tight containers everywhere.”

The original building, pictured, once featured a small carousel behind it. Both the carousel and the candy store were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1925 that burned several blocks of downtown.
Rudy Dolle rebuilt the store in 1926 and continued making candy using the popular family recipes. During this era, excursion trains brought tourists to Ocean City and it was a rare visitor who left town without a box of Dolle’s candy.
Rudy died in 1968 but his son and grandchildren have continued the family business. Today, Dolle’s is one of just a handful of Ocean City establishments that have continuously operated the same location for over 100 years.

Photo circa 1920 courtesy of Anna Dolle Bushnell