A Popular American Candy Chain Is Closing One Of Their Most Beloved Locations

Iconic candy fans may get a bad taste in their mouth from a sad trend: store closures. Just like retail chains closing stores and restaurant chains struggling, modern times are a mixed bag for candy stores. While candy retail has seen growth in recent years, mostly by focusing on e-commerce sales and prioritizing more premium products, some old-fashioned mainstay shops are still under pressure to close or completely change. From family-owned standalone stores to major brand flagships to factory locations, candy stores are closing their doors — sometimes even after decades of success.

Such is also the case for the super-iconic California-based candy store chain: See's Candies. See's Candies mysteriously closed its Sunnyvale, CA location on Mother's Day, 2025. The company did not respond when asked about the closures, per several Bay Area local news outlets, including SFGate and KRON4. While there is no stated or clear reason why See's Candies shut its Sunnyvale location's doors, there are some factors for armchair retail detectives to consider. Also, the closure follows the same holiday-as-last-day pattern that See's used when permanently closing its nearby Embarcadero Center location on Christmas Eve, 2024.

See's Candies was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1921, by Canadian immigrants Charles See, his wife, Florence See, and his mother, Mary See. This candy retailer has maintained a certain old-fashioned appeal throughout its century-plus in business. Mary See once cooked up signature See's Candies in her white-and-black checkerboard home kitchen. This porcelain tile style was replicated at See's Candies store locations, and remains in place to this day.

You may know the legendary (and legendary-looking) candy store chain from personal shopping experience, because finance icon Warren Buffet bought it in 1972, or simply due to the fun fact that Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance trained at See's Candies' La Cienaga Boulevard location for the famous 1952 chocolate factory line episode of "I Love Lucy."

Before the closure, the Sunnyvale See's Candies location was just as iconic as its namesake. The store spent 30 years in business at its South Bay location, and a local told The Mercury News that losing the neighborhood store feels like "losing an old friend." Per See's Candies, the now-closed 1238 W. El Camino Real store location was a "Volume Savings" shop that offered bulk shopping options as well as its more typical candy counter offerings. Commenters on area-local Reddit message boards have also commented on the closing, citing the closure 'curse' of the Bay Area, and surmising that the store's shopping center will inevitably be turned into another Bay Area curse: 'soulless' new housing redevelopments.

The reason See's Candies closed its Sunnyvale location may remain mysterious. With over 200 stores in operation, the loss of one or even a handful of store locations may not seem like big news in the long run. However, the store closure could be part of some other disturbing trends impacting brick-and-mortar retail.

The Sunnyvale location was inside of a shopping center, which means said center is now without a tenant it has counted on for 30 years. With that said, lease negotiations and rental disputes plague businesses small and large, and have even recently contributed to the closure of a beloved Texas restaurant chain. 

Wage issues, or lower demand, could also be potential factors in the store closure. While it is unclear (and unlikely) that the Sunnyvale store was unionized, multiple California See's Candies store and factory locations are unionized. San Mateo, Contra Costa, and Alameda County union workers even ratified a three-year contract with See's Candies in 2022 that allowed for stronger wages. Potential rumors of expanding union power or wage increase requests could have played a role in the Sunnyvale closure. However, it could also be simple economics. If the Sunnyvale location made its money from bulk business sales, it could be that bulk business is following the same downward trend of most discretionary consumer spending. Sees' Candies' CEO has also publicly addressed how high tariffs could affect candy prices. Any or all of these factors could have contributed to a candy store closure far more bitter than sweet.