John Dorman

A Coney Island classic, Philips Candy Store, has moved to Staten Island but owner John Dorman recalls his decades open for business in the Stillwell Avenue train terminal. The shop originally opened in 1930 in that location, but Dorman began working there in 1947 when he was seventeen. He left in 2000 when the city would not renew his lease. Dorman recalls many regular customers, including transit workers who would visit for coffee and a cookie. The store featured taffy pulling and wrapping machines that visitors could watch through the window. Dorman recalls some of the changes he saw over the decades he worked in Coney Island, including the businesses that used to operate nearby. John Dorman reopened Philips Candy in 2002 in Staten Island.

John Dorman passed away on December 28, 2023 at the age of 93.