ray's candy store

East Village icon Ray Alvarez turned 84 yesterday, so a neighborhood crew threw him a party, complete with a belly dancer, inside his tiny store.

While the majority of the city sleeps, Ray Alvarez deep fries Oreos, slathers chili and cheese on hot dogs, and keeps the coffee pot full at his eponymous shop on Avenue A.

You're never too old for some tasteful T&A.

What? How else should you celebrate becoming an octogenarian?

Friends of beloved East Village photographer and blogger Bob Arihood, who died last week, gathered for a candlelit vigil outside Ray's Candy Store last night.

After a very dramatic week at the hands of the Department of Health, beleaguered East Village storefront Ray's Candy Shop is officially, legally, back open for business

The Health Department isn't playing with poor old Ray Alvarez, whose titular Candy Store has been an Avenue A institution for generations.

The saga of shuttered East Village institution Ray's Candy Store continues today, as Ray promises to clean up his act for the Department of Health

Ray Alvarez of Ray's Candy Store was fined $2,000 for defying an order to close issued by Health Department inspectors.

Seems like it's always something with Ray's Candy Store, the classic Avenue A snack shop that specializes in milkshakes, egg creams, french fries, and character. Oh, and vermin, apparently.