• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, July 10, 2009

Hershey's has its own stores. And of course, there's M&M's World. Why shouldn't those adorable little marshmallow chicks - Peeps -- get their own showcase, too?

Just Born says the time is now, and will soon open Peeps & Company, its first retail store, at National Harbor, a large mall just outside Washington, D.C. "In addition to our delicious treats, visitors will be able to purchase from an array of branded items, such as souvenirs, clothing, gifts and fun," a spokesperson for the Bethlehem, Pa.-based confectioner says.

National Harbor, a multi-use area, includes several hotels as well as restaurants and stores, about 10 minutes from downtown D.C., and the Disney Cos. recently announced plans to build a 500-room property there. The Peeps shop will be located at the very center of the main plaza, she says.

Peeps has always has a special kind of cult following, and the brand, which started with the basic neon-yellow chicks at Easter, has since branched out into every other holiday, with hearts, pumpkins, and Christmas trees, and expanded its color palette to shocking purples, turquoises and greens. For the last three years, for example, the Washington Post has sponsored a "Power to the Peeps" diorama contest, which has attracted hundreds of participants.

Entries run the gamut from cute (think chicks in blonde wigs, as ancient Egyptians, or "Pamplona - the running of the peeps) to social commentary (a disheveled bathroom scene, strewn with liquor bottles, labeled "Amy Winepeep - They tried to make me go to rehab, and I said "peep, peep, peep.") to the really creepy, including how peeps behave in the men's room and a Zombie peep climbing out of a grave.

Just Born also markets Mike & Ike and Hot Tamales candies.