Interior view of O'Brien's Candy Store replicate at History Park

The Candy Store & Ice Cream Parlor is a recreation of a San Jose icon. O’Brien’s was the first place to serve ice cream and sodas west of Detroit in 1878. It was founded in 1868 by Maurice O’Brien, an Irish immigrant. With $500 in his pocket, he began his San José candy business by selling baskets of candy in the doorway of the Pacific Hotel. Soon outgrowing his doorway location as his business rapidly prospered, O’Brien moved to a corner stand at First and San Fernando Street, and in 1874, to 30 South First Street, the home of O’Brien’s Candy Store for the next fifty-three years. The re-creation of O’Brien’s Candy Store was sponsored by The Rotary Club of San José.