Robert Wagner

Introduction

Robert Wagner is the 66-year-old owner of Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store, the bright-yellow roadside landmark along U.S. Highway 169 near Jordan, Minnesota, who was charged with a gross misdemeanor for selling liquor-filled candy without a liquor license . A criminal complaint filed October 27, 2026 in Scott County court charges him with one count of selling liquor without a license or permit, after state enforcement agents say an undercover buy found the store selling chocolate laced with brandy and whiskey to ordinary customers — including, per the complaint’s allegation, at least one purchase by a minor with no ID check . Wagner, who was charged by summons, acknowledges the store had no liquor license but says he believed the candy was legal to sell, and he is scheduled to make his first court appearance on December 18 .

Background Information

Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store began as a family-run apple stand in 1979 and grew into a regional attraction known for its yellow barn and what Wagner describes as an inventory built “to have every conceivable candy, even if it doesn’t represent much in sales” . Wagner lives in Belle Plaine, and the store sits on Highway 169 between Jordan and Belle Plaine, southwest of the Twin Cities . The liquor-filled products at the center of the case were imported confections he says he carried for so many years he no longer knows how long they had been on the shelves, stocked alongside novelties like suckers with scorpions inside . The store held no license to sell alcoholic beverages, which investigators confirmed by checking state records after the tip that started the case .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged; denies any intent to break the law. The account below comes from the criminal complaint as summarized by MPR News, KSTP and FOX 9. Wagner has been charged with a single gross misdemeanor and has not been tried: he is presumed innocent, and he says he believed selling the liquor-filled candy was legal.

On July 1, 2026, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division received an anonymous complaint saying the store “sells liquor candies, and sold some to a minor child without checking the minor’s ID” . Agents checked licensing records, found the store had no alcohol license, and on July 22 sent undercover agents into the shop, where they found a section dedicated to alcoholic-beverage candies and confections — some in boxes bearing the warning that selling them to anyone under the legal drinking age was unlawful . The agents allegedly bought products including chocolate-covered brandy cherries measuring 7.3 percent brandy concentration and chocolates with a whiskey syrup center at 3.58 percent alcohol by volume — FOX 9’s court-records account describes the purchases as a Jack Daniel’s chocolate bar and brandy cherries — through the same checkout process as any other candy, with no age verification . Later that day, agents returned with a search warrant and met with Wagner, who told them the store did not have a license, that he knew about the liquor-filled candy in stock, and that he believed the store could legally sell it — the belief at the heart of his defense . The complaint, filed October 27, charges him with one gross misdemeanor count of selling liquor without a license or permit; if convicted he faces up to 364 days in jail and a $3,000 fine .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The case broke locally on November 9 via MPR News and drew national attention this week when the New York Post picked it up under a “candy crushed” headline . Wagner, unusually for a charged defendant, leaned into the attention: he spoke to FOX 9 outside his shop on Tuesday, saying “we have suckers that have scorpions in them… the candies that have the spirits inside of them, we want those as well,” and hung a sign out front rebranding the store “Minnesota’s Most Wanted Candy Store” . He argued state agents could have simply talked to him first — “if they convinced me, well then, I’d say, ‘I’ll take it off the shelf, no big deal’” — and said that if he were truly breaking the law he would not have displayed the candy “for 650,000 customers to walk by and view” . Customers interviewed by FOX 9 were less amused, with one saying the owner “should know” the law and another noting children “think everything is safe to eat” in a candy store . FOX 9 reported Sunday it could not reach Wagner for comment before his on-camera remarks, and a store manager declined comment .

Current Status

Wagner was charged by summons rather than arrested and remains free pending a first court appearance on December 18, 2026 in Scott County court . The charge — a gross misdemeanor carrying a maximum of 364 days and a $3,000 fine — is an allegation, not a conviction, and Wagner maintains he believed the sales were legal and was hiding nothing . The store has continued operating through the publicity, with the complaint’s minor-sale allegation and the store’s missing alcohol license as the factual questions the December hearing and any trial would test . This page tracks the case to that appearance.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Wagner’s business is his public identity — a decades-old family attraction whose owner now answers a criminal charge — and the case has made the store famous well beyond its roadside customer base, with the self-applied “Most Wanted” sign turning the prosecution into marketing . The complaint’s allegation that liquor candy was sold to a minor without an ID check is the element that reaches past licensing paperwork into child-safety concerns voiced by the store’s own customers . A conviction would cap at a year in jail and $3,000 — modest stakes — but the December 18 appearance opens a criminal record question for a 66-year-old shopkeeper whose business model, by his own account, depends on stocking “every conceivable candy” .

Sources

NY Post, “Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store owner Robert Wagner charged with selling booze-filled candy without a license,” November 12, 2026 — source
MPR News, “Owner of Minnesota candy store charged with selling liquor-filled candy without a license,” November 9, 2026 — source
FOX 9, “Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store owner charged over liquor-filled candy,” November 9, 2026 — source
KSTP, “Minnesota candy store owner charged over liquor-filled candy,” November 9, 2026 — source