Sunday Sacramento Scene: Turtles In Old Sac
Turtles in the Wild West? Well it’s true! When we heard about a turtle candy shop in Old Sacramento, we were shell-shocked, and we knew it was just something we had to share! The store, not the candy…
“The biggest seller we have is Turtle Poop—it’s chocolate-covered peanuts.” You could say Dennis Larson is nuts about turtles.
“We have cashew turtles, almond turtles, macadamia turtles…and naturally, pecan turtles,” Larson says. Not only that, have a look around his Turtle shop in Old Sacramento sometime—turtles everywhere! And just a block away, under the I Street Bridge, tiny turtles taking turns, slumbering in the Sacramento sun.
“I’ll have people bring in live turtles wanting to know if I want to buy them!”
In the store, a wide variety of turtle candies, available in sugar-free and dark chocolate varieties. “Our turtles are very nice,” says Larson. “A lot of people who are down here on vacation will buy one to eat while they’re out walking.”
But that’s not all! The walls are lined with turtle staplers, tape dispensers, and African turtle boxes. “We never realized how popular turtles really are! It’s just unbelievable. It’s really become a challenge to keep filling the store with more and more turtles.”
Turtles candies were voted some of the best in the city, ranked higher than See’s and even Trader Joe’s. Prices vary, but you can find a good turtle at around $2.50.
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Natalie Bomke is a features reporter and morning show anchor for KTXL Fox40 in Sacramento. Her Sacramento Scene segment airs Fridays on the Fox40 Morning News. Natalie also contributes to Fox40.com by writing the Sacramento Scene Blog, an online extension of her weekly segment. She can be reached by e-mailing natalie.bomke@fox40.com.
In my past life, I was a tree or something. If not a tree, something that grew old and didn't move very much. I'm pretty convinced of this.