Seeing Stars: Where the Stars Shop

444 N. Cañon
Drive, Beverly Hills, CA
(310) 275-0341 or (888) 615-8800
This
small candy shop near Rodeo Drive, was owned by the husband & wife team
of Shirley Jones and Marty Ingels.
You
probably know Shirley Jones from her stint as the mother on "The
Partridge Family," and from her roles in numerous Hollywood musicals
such as "Oklahoma" and "The Music Man" (where
she played 'Marion the Librarian.)
I first remember seeing Marty Ingels in a short-lived
1962 sitcom called "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster," but the
comic is ubiquitous, turning up on talk shows, game shows, as the voice
of cartoon characters, and in movies like "If It's Tuesday, This
Must Be Belgium."

There's a cute story about just how the celebrity couple came to own this
tiny candy shop. It seems that Shirley mentioned to Marty that she loved
the hand-dipped chocolates sold by this Cañon Drive store, so
Marty bought it for her as a Valentine's Day gift in 1997. Not just the
chocolates, the entire store! (It had been there since 1942, but
the owner was ready to retire.)

The store also has a celebrity following. Customers included Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall
and Frank Sinatra.
More current clientele includes Stephen Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Nancy Sinatra, Jeffry Katzenberg,and David Geffen.

It's located across the street from (and a block
north of) Mulberry Pizzeria
(owned by actress Cathy Moriarty),
and on the same street as Spago Beverly Hills.
Update: Scott C. tells me that Shirley sold the store around
2004. But he provides another Hollywood connection.
According to the new owner, Lucille Ball bought
her candy there. Lucy would come in the back door, past the candy
conveyer belt and sorting table where they make the handmade chocolates, and in doing so she got the idea for
the famous candy factory episode of "I Love Lucy". She reportedly worked there for a week in preparation for doing that episode. (Thanks, Scott.)
Getting
there: Edelweiss is a small shop,
tucked away on the east side of Cañon Drive (two streets east of
Rodeo Drive), just south of Santa Monica Blvd.. in the heart of Beverly
Hills.
[You can access their official
website at: www.edelweisschocolates.com.]
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