Elderly owner, 90, of iconic NYC candy shop is brutally beaten with a ROCK by thug

The 90-year-old owner of Ray’s Candy Store in Manhattan was brutally beaten outside his legendary store by a still-at large perpetrator.

The attack happened outside the 24-hour store early Tuesday morning, and left its egg-cream slinging store merchant, known to many as Ray Alvarez, with a black eye.

Photos show the aftermath of the assault, which cops said occurred when two strangers known to sell seltzer water in the area, approached the senior.

Declining the solicitation, Alvarez parted ways with the two men just before 3am. 

However, soon after, one of the strangers – a baclava-clad man seen pushing a shopping cart – returned and assaulted the storeowner, police said. Alvarez, an Iranian immigrant who has served as a fixture in the East Village for decades, has since returned to work. He has owned and operated the store since 1974.

Ray Alvarez, the 90-year-old proprietor of Ray’s Candy Store, was attacked Tuesday night by an unknown assailant with a rock. He has since returned to work

Caught on camera fleeing the scene, the suspect – a baclava-clad man seen pushing a shopping cart – is being sought by cops, after it was revealed he carried out the attack with an object described as a belt with a heavy rock on the end

Caught on camera fleeing the scene, the suspect is now being sought by investigators, after it was revealed he carried out the attack with an object described as a belt with a heavy rock on the end.

A blow from the makeshift weapon reportedly left Alvarez, who had been working the overnight shift at the iconic store on Avenue A, on the ground bleeding, as the suspect fled down the avenue.

The attack also saw another Ray’s employee who had been working overnight with Alvarez hit in the chest. The pair did not require hospitalizations, and would only call cops the next day.

Alvarez, who had been working the overnight shift at the iconic shop he’s owned since 1974, was left on on the ground bleeding, with the suspect fleeing down the street

They told police from the Ninth Precinct that the staffer was hit in the chest and Alvarez across the left side of his face. He officially filed a report with the precinct Wednesday night, only after reporting in again for his shift.

Officers were seen at the shop Wednesday night listening to Alvarez’s account of the altercation – now the subject of an official investigation.

According to the East Village blog EV Grieve, Alvarez – sporting severe bruising and a noticeable shiner – told cops that he had walked outside for some air with his fellow employees before being approached by the two men.

He said he did not know the men personally, but said that they were known to sell seltzer in the area.