Photo by Lauren Taylor Customers check out the wide selection of candy at Grandpa Joe’s Candy Shop located in Centre Market.

WHEELING — A crowd of candy lovers of all ages gathered Thursday and Friday to celebrate the opening of the newest and sweetest edition to the city’s Centre Market, Grandpa Joe’s Candy Shop.

Located in the former SMART Science Center building located on 22nd Street right next to Centre Market’s Upper Market House, Grandpa Joe’s features 250 different candy bars, 100 bulk candies, over 250 different bottled sodas and a variety of unique novelty gifts.

Founder and owner, Christopher Beers, said the crowd’s reaction was everything he had hoped for and that attendees were just as excited about visiting the store as he was in its opening.

“We ripped the paper off the windows, and we had a crowd of about 50 to 75 folks waiting for us outside,” he said. “The crowd was just amazed at the selection and the decorations.”

Grandpa Joe’s is colorful and busy with candy crammed into every corner, a soda display occupying an entire wall, a light-up candy buffet and even a truck that “crashed” into the entrance. There are cake slices, cupcakes and donuts imported from Belgium displayed at the checkout counter as well as an ice cream parlor where customers can order milkshakes, floats, cones and bowls.

Beers said many first-time customers were especially excited about the soda variety and the plethora of international candies.

“I know a slew of customers yesterday were excited and told me they’re going to try to sample all 250 different varieties of glass bottles of soda on the wall,” he said. “I had a few people that had bought candy on Amazon like Sunkist Fruit Gems, or some of the international items that we have, and the customers were so excited that they could buy it locally.”

Grandpa Joe’s is inspired by Beers’s favorite movie, “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Many of the shop’s decorations reference the movie and its characters, and the movie itself plays on loop for customers to watch as they browse.

Grandpa Joe’s first location opened in the Pittsburgh Strip District in 2012. Wheeling’s location is the 1st Grandpa Joe’s in the state and the 15th across Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.

Beers said even though Grandpa Joe’s is beginning to turn into a chain, he wants to be involved with the local community and its events.

“We want to participate in all of the community events,” he said. “We want to be part of the Wheeling community and become the neighborhood candy store, and we’re just so appreciative of everybody coming out, supporting us and checking out everything we have to offer.”

Grandpa Joe’s operates Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. Beers said he hopes the hours of operation allow more customers to check out the shop.

“Grandpa Joe’s is always open so it gives them something else to do,” he said. “Customers can come down and just laugh at some of the products and you know, share memories of all the different stuff that’s in our store.”