Sam Fant walks about Da Candy Shop with an air of laid-back authority.

Among the chaos of the club scene and the hundreds of people there, Fant seems to remain calm as he weaves through the throngs of people. Those present are quick to call his name and there is no doubt he is the person to go to if you need something. Fant is 19 years old.

“(Hip-hop is) a culture in which anybody can be a part of. It doesn’t require a certain age, a certain race, a certain color,” said Fant, general manager of Da Candy Shop. “Hip-hop just requires you to be you.”

And as of Nov. 2, Da Candy Shop has been providing for the young followers of the hip-hop culture — giving them a place to dance, hang out, and have fun every Friday and Saturday night.

The teen nightclub is open to the 18-and-under crowd every Friday and the 18-and-over crowd every Saturday. It is $15 to get in and the lines “cover the whole sidewalk into the street,” said Marissa Delgado, senior.

In fact, last Friday, the lines began to cover the sidewalk almost an hour before the club even opened.

“Da Candy Shop is a new MySpace,” senior Essence Sanders said. “It’s addicting.”

The club is on the corner of Sutter and Market St. and easily spotted by the loud, blaring music and lines that never seem to diminish.

As the club fills up, the line outside seems to stay at the same length as more and more people come.

The club provides its patrons hip-hop dance music and a dance-club vibe as well as two separate gaming systems at what they call the “Challenge Pit” and two computer stations at an area simply called “Cyber Space.”

Fant called Da Candy Shop a “positive, safe environment for my peers to come in and enjoy themselves.”

And this was exactly what owner Darcel Jackson wanted to provide.

As a parent of teens himself, he wanted a “clean, healthy” place for the teens in this community to go to.

After a number of times that he rented a hall for his daughter to throw a rent party, Jackson came up with the idea for the club.

He said that he also “wanted to prove that young people can hang out and not maim and hurt each other.”

To prove this, and also to ensure that he does run a “positive” club, a notice on the door, right as patrons walk through security that says anyone who is involved in a fight at Da Candy Shop will be banned from returning.

Security is prominently seen on the dance floor watching for suspicious activity and breaking up any large group inappropriately dancing. Security is also ready to break up any fight that may break out inside.

Outside, security checks everyone walking through the door with a metal detector and even occasionally patting people down. There are also surveillance cameras outside the club and additional security to simply provide protection for any situation that may arise.

Fights would seem to be a minor concern when faced with the shootings that occurred outside the club a few weeks ago, but Pete Smith, public information officer for the Stockton Police Department, said that though the police do not really know the motive behind the shooting that left one of Da Candy Shop’s windows broken, and a number of people with cuts from the glass, he really didn’t think that it was directed at the club.

He also said, “We always have a routine patrol around that area, and any area in Stockton.”

Jackson also assures that there is more than adequate security at the club.

“This is considered a sanctuary,” he said. “A guy was getting robbed over at Washington Mutual and he ran over here cause he knew there was lots of security here.”