Buffalo’s Szrama family turned the holes in a jumbo twist pretzel into Landies Candies’ signature confection: chocolate-covered pretzels filled with a sweet center. The family’s food-business roots in Buffalo stretch nearly 100 years, while Landies’ award-winning chocolates have been made in the USA since 1985. What began with a turkey baster in the candy kitchen now ships the family’s stuffed pretzels nationwide.
Fowler's ChocolatesSince 1901, Fowler’s Chocolates has made Buffalo’s original Sponge Candy along with other fine chocolate confections from its Western New York operation. Still family-owned and operated, the company now sells through five regional retail locations and its online store, while its 2018 SQF certification documents the food-safety controls behind its candy-making process.BUFFALO, NY
Stutz Candy CompanyStutz Candy Company makes handmade chocolates and candies using recipes Joe and Mary Stutz developed in the early 1930s, when they sold their confections from a garage in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. Established as a factory and retail operation in 1938, the company now carries that old-fashioned approach into its Pennsylvania and New Jersey stores, with its candy-making heritage reaching five generations. Stutz is particularly known in the Delaware Valley for its boxed chocolates and chocolate-covered pretzels, alongside gift assortments and boardwalk sweets.HATBORO, PA
Watson’s ChocolatesSince two Watson brothers and their wives began making chocolates in a Kenmore soda fountain in 1946, Watson’s Chocolates has grown into a family-owned Western New York confectioner best known for its hand-crafted sponge candy. Four generations of Watsons oversee the company, whose candy makers still use the original family recipes and small-batch methods at its Tonawanda manufacturing facility. Watson’s now supplies eight regional retail shops and ships its Buffalo tradition across the country.TONAWANDA, NY
Michael Mootz CandiesSince 1975, Michael Mootz Candies has made small-batch chocolates and other confections in northeastern Pennsylvania, carrying on recipes developed by “Gammy” Mootz in her early-1900s Pottsville store. Today Jason and Meagan Mootz run the Hanover Township business, with Jason representing the family’s fourth generation of candy makers. The Creamery, opened in 2015, puts the company’s own chocolate pieces to work as ice-cream toppings.HANOVER TOWNSHIP, PA