Ralph Rotten's Great American Candy Shoppe

Then, a customer came in, inspected the Divvies, and announced that her kid has a soy allergy. Styles duly discovered Surf Sweets, whose products contain no soy, wheat, dairy, eggs, tree nuts, fish or shellfish, corn syrup or gluten. Surf Sweets and Divvies now share pride of place in an allergy-friendly Easter candy display.

Styles is committed to providing sweets for everyone - even when, as in the case of her extensive line of sugar-free chocolates, the sweets are artificially sweetened. Her resourcefulness and sense of generosity are innate but also reflect the legacy of her husband, Shell Styles, with whom she opened the store in 1986. Shell died in November 2006. But with a big assist from friends, loyal employees and daughter Sammie, 14, his widow has not only kept the store alive but, in July 2007, moved it across the street. The new, larger space shares the address, fittingly, with a Ralph's Ices.

Of course Ralph Rotten's has much to offer the allergy-free glutton.

There are nuts and nut mixes, lollipops and chocolate pops and supplies for making your own chocolate pops. Among the dozens of chocolates, Styles is particularly proud of her chocolate buttercrunch and dark-chocolate-covered caramels topped with sea salt. She also stocks old-fashioned favorites such as Mary Janes, Smarties, Lemon Heads, Good & Plenty and Mallo Cups, and novelty confections such as Wormz packed in chocolate dirt.

On the wall behind the fudge counter, large letters spell out Shell Styles' motto: "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."

--Erica Marcus