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While the four-foot soft serve cone that used to greet passersby may no longer exist, SpongeBob and Elmo still smile through the storefront windows. The World of Nuts & Ice Cream shops are smaller, downscale versions of the Upper East Side’s much slicker, fancier Dylan’s Candy Bar. At each of the mini-chain’s modest locations, you’ll find hundreds of bins packed with snacks; sweet—chocolate-covered coffee beans and gummy worms— and salty, like pistachios nuts and wasabi peas. World of Nuts sells more than peanuts, ice cream, and candy. Each store is also amply stocked with party supplies: helium balloons, a rainbow array of stuffed animals, and greeting cards, for last-minute gifts. — Nicole C. Israel