Moshe Cohen, who founded Economy Candy on the Lower East Side, has died

Moshele Cohen 

Economy Candy is a Lower East Side institution. It was created by Morris Cohen 90 years ago.

Economy Candy started out as a shoe store.

Morris Cohen was born in 1917 in New York. His family once lived on top of the store he would later create.

The Rivington Street confectionary empire started as a shoe store with candy hawked from a pushcart outside. Shoe sales plummeted during the Depression, so candy became the Cohen family moneymaker.

Today, the store lives on with thousands of old-school treats like candy cigarettes and Mallo cups alongside newer novelties like sugar-free candy and "Frozen"-branded bites.