Desserts & Sweet Treats

Helen's sweet tooth is concentrated on two stretches of Main Street, and the candy kitchen is open late enough for an after-dinner stop. The table puts addresses and hours in one place.

The candy kitchen was founded in 1973 by the Jones family and makes its candy by hand. The list is long: slab and cream fudge, peanut, pecan and beer brittle, toffee and pralines, nut barks, truffles, chocolates in milk, dark and white, chocolate-covered cookies and caramel apples. If you can't carry it home, orders ship nationwide, and chocolate orders go out with extra ice packs.

The shop has a main store on North Main and a factory location on South Main, both under the same phone number, (706) 878-2443.

Hofer's cafe serves European tortes with whipped cream, and the list reads like a Konditorei menu. The Black Forest torte, Sacher torte and German chocolate torte share the case with cheesecake cups, cannoli and a cream puff pastry. The bakery bakes all its breads in a stone hearth oven, and the Helen visitors bureau singles out Hofer's for Bienenstich (almond honey cake) and Rote Grutze (red berry pudding).

The dessert list comes from Hofer's 2025 menu PDF; the case changes daily, so ask what's fresh. The cafe's hours are on the Hofer's cafe page.

After a float down the Chattahoochee, an ice cream cone is the usual reward. The Alpine Mini Golf Village website (7914 S Main St) lists a Scoop de Scoop Ice Cream Parlor. Hours aren't posted online, so check when you're there. See our tubing guide for the river season.

The candy kitchen's main store and Hofer's are both on North Main Street, so you can do them in one walk. The factory location sits farther south on South Main. Downtown has no meters or garages: the city runs free lots east of Main Street and one pay lot on Edelweiss Strasse, and private lots post their rate at the entrance. The parking guide maps all of them.

One practical note: since December 2025 you can't turn left from Chattahoochee Street onto North Main between 9 AM and 10 PM, so plan your way out of a lot before you pull in.

The candy kitchen lists caramel apples and seasonal items on its website, and its shop hours stretch later on Friday and Saturday nights. Two events line up with a sweet-tooth trip this season.

Dates come from the Helen Chamber and the visitors bureau.