🚨Ray’s Candy Store needs our help🚨 @rayscandystore has been a East Village staple since 1974 serving an eclectic mix of foods, including egg creams, soft serve ice cream, frozen yogurt, New Orleans style beignets, Belgian fries, and coffee. Owner, Ray Alvarez was born in 1933 in Iran and moved to New York in 1964, where he worked for another decade as a dishwasher in New York until he paid $30,000 for the candy store in 1974. On the night of August 6, 1988, while the police battled protesters in what came to be known as the Tompkins Square Park Riot, Ray's Candy Store remained open, per Ray, "because all the combatants were his customers. Ray’s employees started a GoFundMe for the shop which has been just scraping by in recent years. They want to ensure that Ray will have the best 90th birthday ever and ensure that he will live the rest of his life with the legendary shop he built from the ground up. Visit the link in my bio to donate and learn more or go visit Ray yourself! #momnpopdrop
