"PEEPS" Opens Retail Store!!!

[BUGSTUFF]

I would have posted this in the "Latest News" forum, but I apparently don't have access....


OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — It's almost Christmas, but one company wants its fans thinking about chicks and bunnies — year-round.

Just Born, maker of the chick- and bunny-shaped marshmallow Easter favorites called Peeps, is officially opening the first store devoted to them on Thursday. The shop, in a mall near Washington, D.C., sells 850 different Peeps products, including plush toys, china and even a hand-blown glass Peep.

"Our fans have asked us for years, 'What about a store?'" said Kathy Bassininski, who oversaw the creation of Peeps & Company stores for Just Born, based in Bethlehem, Pa.

Nearly 30 newspapers held Peeps diorama contests last Easter, and the company says 100,000 people are registered with its Peeps fan club.

The store is a monument to the marshmallows, with ultra yellow awnings, chick-shaped door handles and 3-D chick tile work behind the register. There are chick-shaped mousepads ($4.90), sweatshirts that say "DC Peeps" ($59.90), a 42-inch-tall plush Peep for $250 and the china, from 130-year-old tableware maker Lenox Corp., for $50 to $100 per piece. The one-of-a-kind Peeps artwork on the walls is also for sale.

Most of the offerings are not edible, but the store does sell the spongy chicks, which have a shelf life rivaling Twinkies' and were first produced in the 1950s. Bunnies in six colors later joined them, and the new store will stock seasonal marshmallow treats such as Valentine hearts and Christmas trees as well as other candies produced by the company.

Planning for the store at National Harbor, a mall and convention center just south of Washington that will someday house the National Children's Museum, began more than a year ago. Privately held Just Born, which also produces Hot Tamales and Mike and Ike, plans to expand an online store and possibly to other physical locations.

Other stores devoted to mega-brand candies exist, like Hershey's 7-year-old store in New York's Times Square. But Peeps followers take their devotion or distaste to extremes. Try searching online for "Peeps jousting"; it's a microwave sport.

Washington artist David Ottogalli, who repairs MRI equipment by day and has crafted artwork with Peeps for more than a decade, sometimes uses thousands of them in a single sculpture. Ottogalli, who made some of the work at the store, said he particularly remembers a woman who once watched him assemble a piece.

"Thank God you found something to do with those things other than eat them," she finally said.

[katiex10204]

omg cute! love the buggy

[scarabY2k]

It's official... The Truley Nolan mouse beetles have just been one-upped by the Peeps Beetle

[bugsy98nb]

So if they got a group shot of that bug with other new beetles it would be hanging with its Peeps ?

[70autostick]

Originally Posted by bugsy98nb

So if they got a group shot of that bug with other new beetles it would be hanging with its Peeps ?

lmfao,I would like a list of all the custom Nbs such as the peep bug,and travel all over to check 'em out.like a scavenger hunt,eh?But with infinite gas...

Sea world killer whale bug
“All you can eat”lobster bug...and..

That's all I got.

[bugsy98nb]

Originally Posted by 70autostick

Sea world killer whale bug
“All you can eat”lobster bug...and..

That's all I got.

Guess we can't have a PIKACHU

[MichelleRoze]

NICE! I love Peeps!!!!

The NB is CUTE

[squeebug]

PEEPS!!!

omg i love em i love em i love em

[Yello_jellybean]

EWWW! Peeps are SERIOUSLY gross! (making yucky face) The thought of eating one gives me a headache.

The car however..... Is SOooo cute. I think they should make a pink NB Peeps car too with the bunny ears or bunny head on top.

Love the car. Would DIE of sugar overload if I ate the candy though.

[Smileybug]

Near DC eh? Might have to get there one of the next times I'm in MD to visit!

Yello, have you never eaten a Peep?! They are an easter staple for me! Putting them in the microwave is fun too. You can make them joust. haha!

[CoriBug]

I don't like Peeps either. Like JoAnne said, there's just too much sugar in them. The Beetle is very cute though - that is one Beetle that can be proud of its cuteness!

[squeebug]

Originally Posted by Smileybug

Near DC eh? Might have to get there one of the next times I'm in MD to visit!

Yello, have you never eaten a Peep?! They are an easter staple for me! Putting them in the microwave is fun too. You can make them joust. haha!

peep jousting! we would do that at work when we were bored, which was most of the time

[AlienBug2000]

I always found Peeps kinda gross too. But true Peep afficianados know the best way to eat them is a day or two after you open the package.

Strangely, Pillsbury rolls-in-a-can always freaked me out too. Go figure.

[squeebug]

Originally Posted by AlienBug2000

I always found Peeps kinda gross too. But true Peep afficianados know the best way to eat them is a day or two after you open the package.

Strangely, Pillsbury rolls-in-a-can always freaked me out too. Go figure.

a day or two? no way that's waaaaaay to soon

[Deserion]

I don't see that ending well.

[olive]

A truly disturbing experiment with Peeps. Just scroll to the end for the conclusion.

[Yello_jellybean]

Smiley- How 'bout I just let you have my share of Peeps? In fact, email me your address and I will mail them to you next Easter. LOL! I much prefer a food ol' chocolate bunny.

Originally Posted by Smileybug

Near DC eh? Might have to get there one of the next times I'm in MD to visit!

Yello, have you never eaten a Peep?! They are an easter staple for me! Putting them in the microwave is fun too. You can make them joust. haha!