Exotic snack shop offering ‘intriguing’ flavors opens in Fairview Heights
Different cultures have different tastes. That applies to snack foods as well.
You can get a taste of Thailand, enjoy a meal from the Mediterranean, or sample the exotic cuisine of Mexico at some of the great ethnic restaurants we have in the area. But what about between meals?
What kinds of potato chip flavors would one find in, say, China or Thailand? What do seaweed-flavored Cheetos taste like? How is Red Bull from Japan different from Red Bull in the U.S.?
St. Clair Square mall’s newest business can help answer these questions.
Exotic Snack Guys opened this week and offers candies, cookies, cakes, chocolates, chips and other treats from more than 40 countries outside the U.S.
Located on the mall’s lower level across from Bath & Body Works, the international shack shop is one of multiple locations to open this year for the 2-year-old Chicago-based business.
This store’s owners, Shoeb Nagman and Ali Mohammed, celebrated a soft opening on Saturday and a ribbon cutting with the city on Monday. They have another store in Peoria’s Northwoods Mall, which opened in late 2024.
Nagman said they hope to open another eight stores by the end of the year and are looking into opening some of them in Missouri. West County Center in Des Peres and the Saint Louis Galleria may be great opportunities for the company, he said.
It took around a month to build out the Fairview Heights store, said Nagman, and a lot of time to find all 97 of the same light bulbs to brighten up the space.
The well-lit store’s décor is both colorful and playful, with decals of well-known characters on the walls. Folks can enjoy images of Chester Cheetah, Mario, The Pink Panther and Hello Kitty, who is a favorite of Nagman’s two daughters and the focal point for the store’s back wall.
As for the selection of snacks, where do I even start?
A wide selection of mouthwatering and intriguing flavors
Exotic Snack Guys has a little something for everyone, from chips and candy to cakes and cookies, ice cream, sodas, boba teas and other beverages.
The snacks are “very mouthwatering, to say the least, and intriguing,” said Nagman.
Familiar chip brands including Doritos, Cheetos, Lay’s, Ruffles and a few others come in some unique – even unexpected – flavors.
Find Cheetos in grilled steak, chicken and crispy seaweed flavors, or check out the multiple Lay’s chips options that include Mieng Kam Krob Ros (Thailand), Fried Crab and Spicy Crayfish (China), and many others.
I’m not sure I’d enjoy meat-flavored chips. I mean, to each one’s own. But as someone with a weakness for potato chips, know that I plan to check out some of the other options.
Candies from Haribo (known for gummy bears), Amos Sweets, Morinaga, Kozed and other brands fill multiple racks in the shop. Some brands feature familiar characters from Pokémon, Hello Kitty and Disney.
Exotic Snack Guys has gummy candies and hard candies, bubble gums and fruit candies. Best of all, they have chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.
The company’s top selling item, and Nagman’s favorite go-to snack, is the Dubai chocolate.
If you aren’t familiar, Dubai chocolate is a rich milk chocolate featuring pistachio cream filling and kataifi pastry (shredded phyllo dough). Exotic Snack Guys has an impressive display of Dubai chocolate that comes in bars, wafers and cones.
Plenty of other goodies are available for my fellow chocoholics. Try the KitKat bars, Snickers and Oreo cookies that come in unique flavors. Peruse the shelves of cookies by Krakuski (Polish), chocolate bars by Milka (Swiss), and mini tiramisu and other snack cakes from Balconi (Italian). And more.
If all of the chips, candy and chocolaty treats aren’t enough to tempt you, check out the selection of spicy noodles (in packets and cups), mochi rice cakes, ice creams and beverages.
About Exotic Snack Guys
Exotic Snack Guys was established by two high school friends “with a shared passion for international snacks,” according to the company’s website.
Founders Zohaib Naman and Shafiq Rehman opened the first location in June 2023 at 2521 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago with a goal of sharing a “carefully curated selection of delightful snacks” from around the world, stated the website.
Earlier this year, Exotic Snack Guys secured $3 million in funding that will enable the company to open 100 new stores over the next three years. There are currently 34 store locations in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Maryland, with plans to open 58 more.
Exotic Snack Guys in Fairview Heights is located at 134 St. Clair Square. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
For more information about Exotic Snack Guys, visit exoticsnackguys.com.
