Formerly: Security Sweet Shop (1921–1933)
Chicago, Illinois · Founded 1921
A family-run Chicago confectionery and ice-cream parlor opened as Security Sweet Shop in 1921 and renamed Margie’s Candies in 1933.
Peter George Poulos opened Security Sweet Shop at Western and Armitage in Chicago in 1921. He soon turned the business over to his son George, who renamed it Margie’s Candies in 1933 for his wife Margie. The original Bucktown shop remains at 1960 N. Western Avenue, where the Poulos family’s confectionery and ice-cream tradition continues.
Greek immigrant Peter George Poulos opens Security Sweet Shop at Western and Armitage in Chicago.
Source: ABC7 Chicago, "Margie's Candies Chicago owner Dr. Peter Poulos dies at age 86"; Margie's Candies official history
George Poulos renames Security Sweet Shop as Margie's Candies in honor of his wife, Margie.
Source: ABC7 Chicago, "Margie's Candies Chicago owner Dr. Peter Poulos dies at age 86"; Margie's Candies historical summaries
Margie Poulos begins running the shop while George serves in the military during World War II.
Source: Margie's Candies historical summaries
After George Poulos dies, Margie takes full control of the business.
Source: Margie's Candies historical summaries
Family and later Chicago accounts say the Beatles visited Margie's after their Comiskey Park concert; this review did not independently verify the event through contemporary reporting.
Source: ABC7 Chicago historical feature; Margie's Candies historical summaries
Margie Poulos dies, and her son Peter Poulos takes over the business.
Source: ABC7 Chicago, "Margie's Candies Chicago owner Dr. Peter Poulos dies at age 86"; Margie's Candies historical summaries
Margie's opens a second Chicago location in Ravenswood at 1813 W. Montrose Avenue.
Source: Margie's Candies historical summaries; Margie's Candies official website
Owner Dr. Peter Poulos dies at age 86. Public sources reviewed here do not identify the current individual successor, though the business continues to describe itself as family owned and operated.
Source: ABC7 Chicago, "Margie's Candies Chicago owner Dr. Peter Poulos dies at age 86"; Margie's Candies official website
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The Poulos family and later Chicago accounts consistently say the Beatles stopped at Margie's after their August 1965 Comiskey Park performance and shared Atomic Sundaes. This review did not retrieve a contemporaneous newspaper account, hotel log, itinerary, or firsthand record sufficient to make the visit documentary-proven.
Margie's and local accounts repeat that Al Capone visited the shop and favored a booth with a protected view. This review found no Chicago Crime Commission record, contemporaneous press report, photograph, receipt, or other independent source establishing a frequent-customer relationship.
The business's official site says Margie's has been family owned and operated for more than 100 years. ABC7 identifies Peter Poulos as grandson of founder Peter George Poulos and owner until his 2023 death. The exact current successor is unresolved, but the current business continues to present itself as family operated.
Margie's has operated at Western and Armitage since 1921 and has a long family business history. This review did not conduct a citywide comparison of older Chicago confectioneries, ice-cream parlors, business interruptions, or successor identities, so no oldest-city title is established.
Margie's Candies opened under its present name in 1921.
The business opened as Security Sweet Shop in 1921. George Poulos renamed it Margie's Candies in 1933 for his wife Margie.
Source: ABC7 Chicago, "Margie's Candies Chicago owner Dr. Peter Poulos dies at age 86"; Margie's Candies official history
Founder Peter George Poulos renamed the shop after marrying Margie.
Founder Peter opened Security Sweet Shop. His son George renamed the business Margie's Candies in 1933 for his wife Margie.
Source: ABC7 Chicago, "Margie's Candies Chicago owner Dr. Peter Poulos dies at age 86"
Al Capone was a documented regular at Margie's Candies.
Capone's visits are longstanding family and Chicago neighborhood lore, but this review found no independent contemporary documentation establishing that he was a frequent customer.
Source: ABC7 Chicago historical feature on Margie's Candies
Margie's Candies is located at 1940 N. Western Avenue.
The original Bucktown location is at 1960 N. Western Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.
Source: Margie's Candies official website; ABC7 Chicago, "Margie's Candies Chicago owner Dr. Peter Poulos dies at age 86"
Margie’s has survived because successive Poulos family members kept a small neighborhood confectionery relevant through familiar ice cream, sweets, and a deliberately old-fashioned parlor atmosphere. Its history includes Margie Poulos’s long personal stewardship after George’s death and Peter Poulos’s later ownership. The business’s celebrity stories add to its Chicago identity, but its real continuity is family operation at the same Western-and-Armitage corner.
Margie's Candies began in Chicago, Illinois, in 1921 as Peter George Poulos's Security Sweet Shop at Western and Armitage. In 1933, his son George renamed it Margie's Candies for his wife Margie. The original shop remains at 1960 N. Western Avenue and continues as a Poulos family confectionery and ice-cream parlor.
No verified evidence establishes Margie's Candies as Chicago’s oldest ice-cream parlor. It is a long-running family confectionery and parlor with roots in 1921 at the same Western-and-Armitage location, but this review did not complete a citywide comparison of earlier Chicago competitors.
Margie's family history and later Chicago accounts say the Beatles visited after their August 1965 Comiskey Park concert and ate Atomic Sundaes. The story is plausible and deeply associated with the shop, but this review did not locate contemporary documentation that independently confirms the visit.
1960 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 384-1035
Margie's has Bucktown and Ravenswood locations; confirm current hours, seating, payment methods, and dessert availability directly before visiting.