Nifty Nut House
The Nifty Nut House
Opened in 1937 by Ed Muckenthaler, The Nifty Nut House is a three-generation family-owned business in Wichita, KS. The shop sells a variety of nuts that are processed and roasted in-house, classic and well-known brands of candy, and have a selection of different snacks and treats produced in-store.[1]
Location and Store information
Address
537 North St. Francis Ave, Wichita, KS 67214.[2]
Website
The store has about 30 employees normally. During the holiday season the store employs a total of 60-80 employees. [1]
History
Founding and General History
The Nifty Nut house was founded on October 16, 1937, by Ed Muckenthaler. In 1973, the store was sold to his nephew Ron Jahn. In 1994 the store was sold to Ron Jahn's son, Steve Jahn, who still owns the store today.[1] In 2014, during a tour, Food Network Star Alton Brown called the Nifty Nut House a "National Treasure."[3]
The store has an extensive vintage gumball and vending machine collection on display in the store, a few are for household use including a machine turned into a rotary phone, and the others are sorted by type and manufacturer. Not all of the machines the owner has collected are on display.[1]
Expansion
In 2016, the owner bought an adjacent property to the store for expansion that opened in 2018. The building that was formerly the shop is now an area used for packaging and processing.[4]
As of May 2026, there are plans for further expansion at a new location.[5] A new 11,000-square foot building is planned with a dock to handle freight on the north side of the store.
Products
The Nifty Nut House has over 4000 items in their inventory and offer free sampling of their house made products.[6]
Snacks
The Nifty Nut House offers a variety of different nuts, seeds, and snack items.[2]
Nuts and Seeds
All of the nuts and seeds are batch-roasted, flavored, salted, prepared, and packaged in the store. The batch-roaster was purchased in 1985. The store can roast up to 200 lbs at a time.[7] It is estimated that the store roasts 600-800 pounds of nuts per day according to the owner. There is a variety of options to choose from including cashews, almonds, peanuts, pecans, pistacios, walnuts, sunflower seeds, corn nuts, coffee beans, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and mixed bags. The store offers plain, roasted, double roasted, salted, flavored, and hand-dipped with yogurt, flavored chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate options. Single, double, or triple dipped options are also available. The Nifty Nut House sells specialty mixes and types of nuts around specific holidays which include maple bourbon, praline pecans, cinnamon nuts, and candied nuts. The specialty mixes include, but are not limited to, the Sweet Caroline Snack Mix, Brittle Nut Medley, Winter Spiced Mix, Fancy Mix, Regular Bridge, and Holiday Nut Crunch. Customers can choose to get pre-packaged and priced items on the shelves in the store or go to the counter to get a custom amount by weight.
Other snack items
The Nifty Nut House sells many snack items other than nuts and candy. [2]
The store has a rotating fudge selection, which is made in-house. There is a variety of different pretzels the store produces and sells, including different types of chocolate dipped and flavored options for themes or holidays. Dried fruits and chocolate covered fruits are available and are often added to their trail mix. Flavored popcorn, peas, corn nuts, and puffs of different flavors are sold in store. The store also produces cookie bites, and chocolate dipped crackers and cookies.[6]
Candy
The Nifty Nut House has a wide variety of candy available for purchase including chocolate, gummy candy, hard candy, powdered, salt-water taffy, retro candy, themed, seasonal, holiday, sour candy, spicy candy and nuts, sugar-free options, and candy used for baking. [6]
Chocolate
The store has dispensers of every color of M&Ms, individual Lindor truffles to mix and match, sixlets, a variety of malt balls, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and flavored chocolate as well as dipped items. The store also sells melting chocolate for baking.[6]
Chewy and gummy candies
The store has an area specifically for gumballs, jellybeans, and salt-water taffy in many different flavors. The salt-water taffy is sorted by flavor, and each flavor of jellybean has its own dispenser. The gumballs are sorted by flavor, type, or color. The store has other options for gum on the shelves other than gumballs. [2]
The Nifty Nut House also has licorice, and single flavor or mixes of gummy candy. [2]
Hard Candy
The store has many different hard candies such as jaw breakers, toffee, lollipops, candy blocks, mints, and runts. [2]
Retro Candy
The Nifty Nut House stocks nostalgic candy such as candy cigarettes, wax bottles, candy buttons, Necco wafters, hard candy sticks, circus peanuts, and Charleston chews are a few candy options that can be found at the shop.[2]
Themed and Holiday
The store sells items for every holiday and season and is well-known for custom gift boxes. There is also a section of candy for gender reveals or baby showers. [7]
Sugar-free
As of 2017, the Nifty Nut House has 23 sugar-free candy options.[8]
Gift baskets anWax bottles filled with mysteriously colored liquid, candy buttons on paper strips, Necco Wafers, Bit-O-Honey, Chick-O-Stick, and other classicsd other Products
Gift Baskets and Boxes
The Nifty Nut House creates pre-made and custom gift boxes and gift baskets for many holidays. During the holiday season, the store creates and sells between 100,000 to 120,000 gift boxes.[7]
Other Products
The Nifty Nut house sells gumball dispensers, T-shirts, magnets, cups, and many toys in the store.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Schnyder, MeLinda (08 December 2019). "Wichita's Nifty Nut House is stuffed with antique gumball, vending machines". The Wichita Eagle. McClatchy Media. p. 1. Retrieved 21 October 2026. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Campbell, Lily (12 April 2025). "This Old-Fashioned Candy Store In Kansas The Sweetest Place To Spend Easter Sunday". Family Destinations Guide. Mediavine Publishers. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- ↑ Neil, Denise (31 July 2017). "Alton Brown calls to gush about Wichita, one of his 'Top 10' cities". The Wichita Eagle. McClatchy Media. p. 1. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Rengers, Carrie (15 November 2018). "New Nifty Nut House finally, and for real this time, has an opening date". The Wichita Eagle. McClatchy Media. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
- ↑ Rengers, Carrie (12 May 2026). "There's going to be some construction at Nifty Nut House. Here's what it's for". The Wichita Eagle. McClatchy Media. p. 1. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Whitfield, Jenna (21 July 2026). "A Nostalgic Kansas Candy Shop Is Hiding A Candy Buffet That Has Become A Regional Favorite". Travelmag. Alviral. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Smith, Lindsay (05 June 2024). "Each nut is roasted lovingly by hand at Wichita's Nifty Nut House. Go behind the scenes". The Wichita Eagle. McClatchy Media. Retrieved 28 October 2026. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ Funschelle, Aliyah (22 April 2017). "Best of Wichita: Nifty Nut House continues to have best treats". The Sunflower. SNO sites. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
Kansas businessman is nuts over gumball, vending machines | Wichita Eagle
See inside Nifty Nut House’s roasting process in Wichita, KS | Wichita Eagle
https://www.kansas.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/carrie-rengers/article315712195.html
https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/restaurants/dining-with-denise-neil/article164536152.html
Best of Wichita: Nifty Nut House continues to have best treats – The Sunflower
Nifty Nut House in Wichita, KS 67214 - 316-265...
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