Barns Brews & Back Roads

Never underestimate where a candy addiction can take you

Yes, this whole trip started because of Red Hots. Technically – Cinnamon Imperials, the name Red Hots is specific to Ferrara Candy of Chicago. And now I know more about Red Hots than I had planned. Anyway, how do you end up in Jeffersonville, Indiana on a Saturday in search of one of the oldest family owned candy businesses in the United States? TikTok. On Friday morning I happened to catch a TikTok from Logan’s Candies in Ontario, CA and they were collaborating with Schimpff’s Candies in Indiana to make chocolate candy canes. Like any good travel blogger with a candy addiction, I clicked over to Schimpff’s TikTok and they we’re making red hots. And that was all it took for me to drive an hour and half south and explore Jeffersonville.

I’ve been to Jeffersonville before, multiple times actually – but mostly in the area just off of I65 and Veterans Pkwy (home to Torchy’s Taco’s and Wawa – damnit I should have stopped for mint mocha). I had never been to the Riverfront though.

The first thing I noticed once I was on Spring St was the Vintage Fire Museum (706 Spring St). I didn’t stop but it does look like it houses a very large collection of antique fire trucks and equipment. If you have a kid who likes all thing firetrucks (aka Dawson) this would be a cool stop. I made it to Schimpff’s and started looking for parking, which was fairly easy to find, there are several Public Parking lots (free 😁) and street parking. Schimpff’s is definitely an anchor store in the downtown/riverfront area.

What I knew going in:

• They are one of the oldest family run candy stores in the United States and have been in business since 1891.
• They are famous for red hots, hard candy fish and Modjeskas (caramel covered marshmallows).
• They have a lunch room/soda fountain that is open 11a-3p and a candy museum and tour that includes a candy demonstration.

What I walked in to:

• Wall to wall candy.
• At least 150 people shopping or in line at the chocolate counter.
• A case of hand dipped chocolate any and everything you could want – that was half the length of the store.

I finally made my way to the back where the lunch room was located, it had already closed though. What caught my eye on the menu board was Deviled Eggs. It reminded me of a 1960’s era lunch counter; sandwiches (ham, turkey, egg salad, ham salad, chicken salad, pimento), soup and sides like deviled eggs, cottage cheese & tomato. I never made it to the soda fountain side. I got two tins of red hots and a tin of the hard candy fish and made it through the craziness to the cash register. They also sell Jelly Belly’s in bulk by the flavor or in specialty packages – but I resisted. The Modjeskas, I did want to try them but in all the chaos by the chocolate counter, I’m not sure where they were. Luckily, at work we have a lot of trainings coming up this fall in New Albany which is handily located close to Jeffersonville – along the riverfront.

Why do I love Red Hots? And Jelly Belly’s? Other than being a total candy addict since before I can even remember… my mom loved Red Hots and Jelly Belly. Not together of course. For Valentines Day my mom would get a giant bag of Red Hots and mix them with peanuts. And now that fall is arriving, I’ll be mixing candy corn with peanuts – another one of mom staples. She bought Jelly Belly’s anytime she was at a store that sold them.

Since most travelers aren’t obsessed with candy like I am – what else is there to do? The riverfront area is scattered with boutiques, restaurants, art, ice cream and pubs. I explored an antique store, Sugar Maples (109 W Maple) that was having a Labor Day sidewalk sale. There is also a riverfront park and trail. Which brings us to the next big adventure: The Big 4 pedestrian bridge. From the riverfront I was trying to get a good picture of Louisville, but all you can see are the bridges. The Big 4 Bridge, The Abraham Lincoln Bridge (northbound I65), The John F Kennedy Bridge (southbound I65) and the Clark Memorial Bridge (US31).

Yep, she’s tall. She’s an abandoned railroad bridge turned hiking/biking trail that connects Jeffersonville IN to Louisville KY. The middle tower is 53 feet above the water level of the Ohio River. I contemplated walking the bridge, it was the only way I was going to get a good picture, but my bridge anxiety is real. I walked past the flood gates toward the Big 4 Station Park to access the bridge. The park is a very nice, open park with a huge pavilion area for picnics. Stalling, I hit up Pearl Street Treats (301 Pearl St) for a Diet Coke before biting the bullet and starting up ramp, how bad could it be? The entry ramp is long (nearly 1/4 mile) and goes up very gradually. The walk up wasn’t too bad, but my calves were starting to wonder when the last time we had done any form of exercise. I surprised myself – I walked onto the bridge and didn’t immediately freak out. Technically I was still over land at that point. I made it out to the first truss and was still feeling pretty good so I kept going. Honestly, I was hoping there would be a state line marker so I could be in two places at once (A Walk to Remember, Nicholas Sparks). Proof I made it half way:

See the Mary M. Miller Riverboat? That’s when my bravery of walking on a bridge failed. I thought I’d be sassy and stand on one of the bottom rails to get a better picture of the boat. At 5’2″ I couldn’t really see over the railing, once I got up a bit higher and I could see the water directly below me I was done. Luckily there are benches along the bridge so I was able to stop and catch my breath and then walk back. Also, the state line is literally before you even get to the first truss.

Heading back to Spring St I passed a few more restaurants, Parlour Pizza, La Catrina Tacos and Tequila, and Union Restaurant and Gameyard. Honestly they all looked amazing, and it was nice out and their outdoor seating was full. The Gameyard looked like a great place to hang out or have a party. There’s a huge outdoor adult play yard with trash can pong, cornhole, darts and ping pong.

I can’t talk about Jeffersonville without mentioning Kingfish (601 W Riverside Dr.). It is a staple for the radio technicians I work with. I’ve never been, because it’s all seafood, and when your husband doesn’t like seafood….. Anyway, one of the biggest events of the year in Jeffersonville is Thunder Over Louisville. It’s a huge air show with jets, helicopters, and parachuters followed by one of North America’s largest fireworks displays over the Ohio River, and it is the opening event for the Kentucky Derby Festival. Every year the techs who are assigned to work Thunder have a meal at Kingfish.

What else is there to do? Umm ….the question is really what isn’t there? Jeffersonville is one of three river towns all puzzle pieced together along the Ohio River. And, like most places in Indiana, if there’s a DNR park nearby, I’ve been there and highly recommend it. The Falls of the Ohio state park is no exception. It’s a beautiful park. The Falls aren’t really what most people think of when you say Falls, it’s an area of the Ohio river that has a series of rapids caused by water flowing over ledges of hard limestone. It also features 390-million-year-old fossil beds that are among the largest exposed Devonian fossil beds in the world.

I love visiting Indiana “river towns.” Jeffersonville is one of the larger ones, but just about any town along the Ohio River in Indiana has a lot to offer. Another one I want to revisit soon for this blog is Madison. You could spend a day, a weekend or a week in Jeffersonville and have plenty of things to see and do. Pro tip: if you want to attend Thunder Over Louisville I would start looking to book a hotel or Airbnb soon.

Also, I was wearing a Beatles concert shirt (reproduction – I’m not that old!) and I got several compliments on my shirt. Which I thought was nice – I mean there are a lot of Beatles fans. But when I was looking for other festivals that happen in Jeffersonville I found out that the city hosts: Abbey Road on the River, a massive festival celebrating all things Beatles (the largest of its kind in the world). May 21-26, 2026, 5 days, 5 stages, 50 Bands, in the Big 4 Park.

Things I learned writing this blog:

• The Red Hots they make at Schimpff’s are actually larger cinnamon hard candies and not true cinnamon imperials. But still tasty.
• Red Hots were introduced in 1932 by Ferrara Pan Candy Company in Chicago. Ferrara also introduced the Atomic Fireball in 1954 (also one of my favorite candies).
• Ferrara candy is home to A LOT of the candies I love. In addition to Red Hots and Atomic Fireballs, they own Jelly Belly, Runts, Spree, Laffy Taffy, Nerds, Everlasting Gobstopper, Bottlecaps and all of Brach’s (candy corn, pumpkins, candy hearts etc.).
• Modjeskas are named after Madam Helena Modjeska a Polish actress who, in the late 1800s, became very famous in the United States, especially the Louisville area.
• I knew my grandmothers parents were originally from Jeffersonville. My great grandfather and grandmother (Großvater and Gróßmama as my mom called them) are buried in Walnut Ridge Cemetery which is about 10 minutes north of the Big 4 Park. Apparently a lot of my relatives are buried all throughout Clark County – maybe another trip.
• The Big 4 Bridge was constructed in 1895 as a railroad bridge for the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St Louis (nickname Big 4) Railroad and was decommissioned and abandoned in 1969. In 2013/2014 the bridge reopened to pedestrians and bicyclists as part of the Louisville Waterfront development.
• From the Big 4 Park ramp to the end of the ramp in Louisville Waterfront park is roughly 1 mile.