The Lolly and Scoop Shop on lower Crown Street has an abundance of candy from wall-to-wall and is also the Illawarra's first "scoop shop" for Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.

Children will be able to get one free cone from the store on Saturday November 6 and Sunday November 7 from 12-4pm, unless sold out.

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"I just like the joy that it brings people," said co-owner Liz Zalunardo.

This is the second sweet venture for her family after they gave a Willy Wonka-style makeover to a Kiama gift shop in 2020.

The Wollongong store is just as colourful, with dozens of different lollies to make your own mix, as well as international delights like mocha M&Ms, Jolly Ranchers and Pokemon cereal. The back part of the shop will also function as a convenience store.

The initial COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 caused some challenges to get the Kiama store open, as did the most recent lockdown with the Wollongong store originally scheduled to open in June.

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But Mrs Zalunardo rose to the occasion, reminding herself of her childhood dream of one day being a lolly-shop Queen.

"Even when times have been tough and I've been like 'oh gosh this is hard', I just remind myself of the dream that I had as a child," she said.

"A lot of people laugh at 'oh, you wanted a lolly shop?' It's a good reminder to kids, it doesn't matter what anybody says, nothing is unrealistic if you honestly believe in it."

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