Hurrah! The jelly beans are back!

Stop the presses – the jelly beans are back!

These aren’t just your average, everyday gourmet treats – they’re Church and Scott Jelly Beans. And after a two-year pandemic-related absence, they’re back on the shelf at the pharmacy, just south of Cooperstown’s village limits on Route 28.

They’ve been a staple in and around Cooperstown since the 1950s when the store – then on the corner of Main and Pioneer streets – introduced the confection.

“For years, people knew they could rely on Church and Scott to provide the best jelly beans in the area,” said Rob Makofske, pharmacist and store owner. “During COVID, we weren’t able to get the beans from the producer, Just Born, but now they’re back.”

“That was a hard two years for everyone,” he said. “These beans are a part of peoples’ lives. During COVID, we tried another brand, but they just didn’t cut it for our customers. They wanted the original beans mainly for their taste, but it’s also the tradition and the act of physically coming into the drug store to buy them.”

“The beans have gotten to be world-famous because parents buy them and ship them overseas to their kids,” he said.

Just Born, a family-owned business since 1923, has plants in Bethlehem and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is the tenth-largest candy company in the United States. Along with the Church and Scott jelly beans, the company manufactures marshmallow Peeps, Mike & Ike jellies, and Hot Tamales.