Juanita’s Candy Kitchen in Arkadelphia

Well, brittle fans have probably heard the news that Andrews Candy Company, a staple of Arkadelphia since 1955, is heading to Colorado. However, the good news is you can still order from them online.

Also, Juanita’s Candy Kitchen is still in town.

“My mother (Juanita) started business in 1974,” said owner Gary Gaither. Juanita’s is known for their peanut, pecan, and cashew brittle. The peanut brittle (Gaither’s favorite) is the best seller of the trio but all of them have a fan base.

“We ship all over,” said Gaither. “A lot of people send to their relatives in the military. We send a lot over to Afghanistan and we  used to send a lot to Iraq.”

People can order the brittle or pick up a bucket from the company’s headquarters and showroom. News of the candy has spread via word of mouth and Gaither said they’ve had visitors from all over the world swing by including one time when three women from South Africa and a couple from Australia came by in the same week.

From the beginning, Juanita’s has always tried to make their candy really thin. “It’s probably thinner than any candy you’ll find as far as brittle goes,” he said.  “We are conscience about how the candy is made and want everything to be consistent. If someone doesn’t buy a bucket of candy but every 5 years, we want them to go ‘Yeah this is exactly how I remember it’.”