Clark Bar’s fate still unclear
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The future of Pittsburgh’s classic Clark Bar remains in limbo.
The family owned investment company that saved Twinkies and last month bought the New England Confectionery Co. — the Massachusetts-based maker of Necco Wafers, Clark Bars and other nostalgic candies — isn’t commenting on whether it will continue making the crunchy chocolate-covered peanut butter concoction created a century ago in Pittsburgh.
“It’s too early to discuss specific plans,” a spokeswoman for Metropoulos Co. — run by Dean Metropoulos and his sons, Evan and Daren — said in an email this week.
The Metropoulos family picked up Necco for $17.3 million in bankruptcy court after the initial winning bidder, Ohio-based Spangler Candy Co., failed to close on its $18.83 million offer.
Necco is being renamed Sweetheart Candy Co. in reference to its Sweethearts conversation hearts, a Valentine’s Day staple.
Necco, founded in 1847, bills itself as the oldest continuously operated candy company in the country. Some of its other products include the chocolate Sky Bar, Mary Jane chews, Candy Buttons and Mighty Malts malted milk balls.
“Acquiring Necco is a special opportunity to create a robust platform designed to build critical mass and create the potential for consolidating additional confectionery brands in the near future,” Daren Metropoulos said in a June 1 news release announcing the acquisition that closed May 31.
His brother, Evan, said the company would work to “revive Necco and its amazing brands, all of which have a special place in the heart of Americana.”
Necco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, a month after announcing it would close unless it found a buyer.
News of the potential shutdown set off panic buying among retailers and consumers who feared losing some of their favorite childhood treats.
Necco began making Clark Bars — created in 1917 by Irish immigrant and Pittsburgh candy maker David L. Clark — after buying the rights and equipment at a Pittsburgh bankruptcy auction in 1999.
The Metropoulos family has invested in approximately 80 companies over nearly 40 years, according to the company website, reviving distressed brands such as Hostess snack foods, Vlasic pickles, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and Chef Boyardee canned pastas.