Oldest Family-Owned Candy Companies in Ohio

Ever stop to think about where our sweets come from? Ohio has a goodly number of old-time confectioners. This article covers only the oldest ones who responded to my interviews.


Satisfying Ohio's Sweet Tooth: Family-Owned Candy Companies

Article and Photographs by Toni Leland

Family businesses come and go, but like the rich sensation of chocolate on the tongue, a few Ohio family-run candy companies have endured and prospered.

1840

Wittich’s Fine Candies & Ice Cream Soda Fountain

117 West High Street, Circleville, Ohio; 740-474-3313

Almonized peanuts, Buckeyes, and cream peanut clusters

Gottlieb Fredrick Wittich and his family settled in Circleville in 1836 as bookbinders, but Gottlieb went to Cincinnati to apprentice in the candy-making industry. He returned in 1839 and, with his brother Ferdinand Fredrick, set up Circleville’s first candy shop: FF & GF Wittich Confectionery. The business grew through sales of pure sugar stick candy, lemon drops, and cinnamon balls, as well as hand-churned ice cream.

      In 1905, Gottlieb turned the business over to his son Edward, who ran the store with his wife until 1930, when he passed the torch to his own son, Fredrick Edward. During those hard times, Wittich candies were sold exclusively wholesale until 1935 when Fredrick and his wife opened a retail store on Main Street.

Like so many other candy companies, Wittich’s struggled during World War II, but instead of cutting back, they traded their unwanted or unused ration tickets for sugar. After Frederick’s death in 1947, Mrs. Wittich and her sisters ran the business until 1980, when she passed it on to her son, Fredrick Edward, Jr.

      In 1999, Fred retired from the Circleville Fire Department, built an addition on the store, and added a classic 1946 Bastian-Blessing soda fountain. Today, Wittich’s is known for Cream Peanut clusters, Buckeyes, and Almonized Peanuts. All products are made from original “scratch” recipes, and Fred still supervises all the candy-making. 

Late 1800’s

Winans Chocolate & Coffees

122 West High St., Piqua, OH 45356; 937-773-1981

http://www.winanscandies.com

Courtesy Winans

Bryan, Ohio native Charles Walton opened his bakery in the late 1800’s and included fudge in his assortment of sweets. One of his employees, Wayne Winans, eventually married Walton’s daughter, Edla, and they opened their own bakery in Piqua. During the Great Depression, the townspeople would bring their sugar rations to Wayne and he would make cookies for them. Wayne Winans’ son Max became interested in fudge-making and started making the confection while still in high school in 1946. He and his brother Dick eventually opened a bakery in Bellefontaine, Ohio, then opened a candy store in Piqua known as the Carriage House.

      By 1961, Max and Dick began making hand-dipped chocolates and expanded their candy line, marking the opening of Winans Chocolate & Coffees in Piqua. Dick and Max Winans retired in the 1990’s, and Max’s daughter Lauri Reiser and her husband Joe took over. They recently moved the company into a newly-renovated historic hotel, now called the Fort Piqua Plaza and, interestingly enough, Winans is right next door to the original Wayne Winans bakery location.

      Winans is well-known for their caramels and nut brittles: peanut, coconut, almond, and cashew.

1906

Spangler Candy Company

400 N. Portland Street, Bryan, Ohio

http://www.spanglercandy.com

Famous Spangler Dum Dums lollipops

In 1908, Arthur and Ernest Spangler made the decision to switch from manufacturing baking products to making candy. Within two years, they moved the business to larger quarters and, again, three years later. A third brother, Omar, joined the company and the product line expanded as hard candies became more popular. 

      By 1915, over sixty products were sold under the Spangler Candy name, and the second generation had joined the firm: Ted, Harlan (Bun), Norman, Frank, Charles, and Albert.

      The company grew quickly and ultimately purchased Dum Dum Pops (1953) and A-Z Christmas Candy Canes (1954). Spangler is the world’s largest manufacturer of candy canes, and the Dum Dum lollipop is known throughout the country.

From the late 70’s onward, third generation Spanglers (C. Gregory and Dean) manned the helm of this highly successful company; in 2008, fourth generation member Kirkland B. Vashaw became the president.

      One of Spangler’s innovative candies is the Saf-T-Pop, a toddler-sized lollipop with a twisted-fiber loop handle. 

1908

Aglamesis Brothers

Oakley Square, Cincinnati, Ohio 

http://www.aglamesis.com

Opera creams, a Cincinnati favorite

The lure of America brought young Thomas Aglamesis from Sparta, Greece to the city of Cincinnati. His brother Nicholas arrived a year later and the brothers began working in the ice cream trade, learning the tricks, and saving their money. They opened their first venture in Norwood in 1908, but several years later built an elegant establishment in Oakley, complete with Portuguese marble, tile floors, and Tiffany lamps. They worked hard to keep the business open through the Depression and the war years, even with sugar rationing.

      When Nicholas passed away in the fifties, Thomas’s health failed and his son James took over. With the help of his son and daughter, James Aglamesis successfully maintains the same products and quality so prized by his grandfather. A Cincinnati tradition, the Opera Cream is one of Aglamesis Brothers’ signature products. The company has been nationally recognized by such illustrious publications as Bon Appetit, Chocolatier, and The New York Times, and is a favorite place to satisfy Cincinnati’s sweet tooth.

1923

Ben Heggy’s Candy Company

743 Cleveland Ave., N.W., Canton, Ohio

http://www.heggys.com

Creamy caramels from Heggy's

Like so many young men in the early 1920s, Ben Heggy learned candy-making as an apprentice, but when that business closed, he decided to try his hand at making his own chocolates. He purchased a house to incorporate a candy shop, and small restaurant which became a favorite hang-out for high school kids until 1950, when fire destroyed the entire structure.

      Not one to be daunted, Ben rebuilt the shop, but not the restaurant. His candy store was at the front, with the factory located at the back. During his long career, he had help from four sons-in-law, all of whom were, or are still, involved in the management of the business. Heggy’s Candy Company prides itself on keeping prices down while maintaining high quality, and they still use all the old recipes that have pleased customers for 86 years. Among Heggy’s most popular candies are chocolate-coated peanut clusters, creamy caramels, and fresh roasted salted nuts.

1932

Anthony-Thomas Chocolates

1777 Arlingate Ln., Columbus, OH  43228;  877-CANDY-21

http://www.anthony-thomas.com

Ohio State University Buckeye candies

In 1907, Greek immigrant Anthony Zanetos came to Columbus to seek a new life. He was a quick study in learning how to make candy at a local shop and, by 1916, he was experimenting in the family kitchen. He realized he wanted to go into business for himself and, in 1932, he opened the Coop Dairy in Franklinton. When his son Tom returned from World War II, the business became a father-son operation: Anthony-Thomas Chocolates.

      Tom Zanetos received a veterans’ allotment for sugar, which he bartered for some of the other ingredients needed in candy-making.  He sold the candies wholesale, going door to door. In 1947, the Zanetos’ opened a restaurant called the Crystal Fountain, and candy sales increased. About that time, a large building down the street came on the market and the two men built their first candy factory. They expanded several times, eventually building the current factory on the west side of Columbus (1995).

      Three of the founder’s four grandsons joined the company: Joe (the current president), Greg, and Tim (both vice presidents). Other family members have also continued the traditions of the company; Steve Scully is the factory manager, and Joe’s daughter, Candi Zanetos Trifelos, is the director of retail sales and marketing.

      Anthony-Thomas Chocolates holds the official license for the Ohio State University Buckeye Candy. 
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©2011 Toni Leland. All rights reserved. This article first appeared in Over the Back Fence Magazine, Jan/Feb '10. No portion of this work may be reproduced without written permission of the author. Links to this article are welcomed, with proper full credit.