A Sweet Solution: How Creative Zoning Saved Ada's Candy Store in Riverside
Generations of Riverside kids walking near the train station on summer afternoons could smell the sugary scent of penny candy drifting through a screen door at Ada's.
Step inside 112 Riverside Avenue, hand over a couple of crumpled dollar bills, and Ada Cantavero would ask the golden question: "How much do you want to spend?"
From there, she’d snap open a small brown paper bag and fill it one by one, by hand, with your choices from the colorful glass display—sour cherries, sour straws, Eye Poppers, Crybabies, Super Sours, Sour Keys, and Sour Bears. Long before boutique bakeries and artisanal roasters took over suburban main streets, Ada’s was the unofficial neighborhood meeting place.Now, following its 2024 closure, the landmark is officially set for a cafe revival.
130 Years of History on One Narrow Lot
1894: Built as the original Riverside Post Office, the building featured a classic Queen Anne Victorian storefront with delicate gingerbread trim and a covered front porch.
Early 1900s: A two-family residential house was built just behind the post office on the tight, half-acre lot.
1950: Ada Cantavero opened her iconic candy shop, running it for six decades until her passing at age 88.
2016–2024: Ada’s nephew restored the storefront into Ada’s Kitchen + Coffee, keeping the spirit alive with scratch-made food,specialty coffee, and classic penny candy jars on the counter.
The Grand Bargain: The Historic Overlay (HO)
To break the zoning deadlock over improving the property, the town and owner used a Historic Overlay (HO)—a straightforward preservation trade:
For the owner: Zoning relief to expand the rear home to ~5,000 sq. ft. with a garage while keeping the commercial café use.
For the neighborhood: Zero extra dwelling units, avoiding new commuter traffic or school strain on a narrow street.
For history: A permanent legal easement protecting the 1894 Queen Anne storefront and its Victorian gingerbread details from demolition forever.
Between the Lines: For everyone who still remembers clutching that brown paper bag full of Crybabies on a warm Riverside afternoon, this is, quite literally, a sweet solution.