The History of Anderson's Candy Shop in Richmond, Illinois.

Anderson's Candy Shop was founded by Arthur Anderson in 1919 when he left the most famous candy company in Chicago, Krantz's Confectionery, to start his own business. He opened a small shop on Armitage Avenue in Chicago with a make-good gift of flavoring and chocolate from local chocolate and flavoring companies. If Arthur made good he was to pay them back.

Arthur and his family did make good but driven by rising rent Anderson left the city in 1926 and bought a house on what is today Route 12 in Richmond, Illinois. He ran his business out of his front porch and living room selling candy in the cool months and ice cream in the summer.

There was a sign above the door which read: I MAKE MY OWN CANDIES.

Arthur Anderson's motto was: No fancy packaging just the best candy you can buy and that's what you get when you buy Anderson’s. Times got tough during the Great Depression and the war years for Arthur and his candy business. He had to sell off parts of his property in order to keep the business going.

In 1933 the whole nature of the business changed after Arthur and his family visited the Chicago World’s Fair. He came home with the first air conditioner in McHenry County, which allowed him to sell chocolate year-round.

The candy shop almost closed during the Second World War because of rationing on chocolate and sugar supplies. During the war years, Anderson went to work in a defense plant but each month he would save up supplies. When they had enough, Arthur and his wife would open the store for a day but even with a limit of one box per customer, their supply would sell out in just a few hours.

Arthur passed his passion for chocolate down to his son, Raynold Anderson. Raynold was away fighting in Europe during the Second World War. When he returned, he took over the daily operation of the candy shop and married Violet. While Arthur established the business, Raynold expanded it. The post-war economy boomed and people took to the roads to travel like never before. Tourists would pass our shop on their way to Rockford, Chicago and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, making sure to stop at Anderson's Candy Shop to pick up candy and to talk to the candymaker and his family on the way.

Throughout Raynold's time leading the business methods never changed. In the cooking room, Raynold used the same recipes and methods Arthur taught him and he passed those on to his two boys, Lars, and Lief who are teaching them to their children today.

Lars and Lief took over Anderson's Candy Shop in the late 1980s but continued to practice the same standards of production and service our parents and grandparents showed us years ago. A lot has changed in the world in 90-something years but at Anderson's things are still done the old-fashioned way. They use only the best ingredients including double refined sugar, butter, aged vanilla, and cream. They hand make all of their candy, cooking it in small batches and using recipes handed down through three generations. Leif personally answers phone calls, e-mails, and talks to customers in the Richmond shop every week. Loyal customers appreciate the difference passion and tradition make when producing gourmet chocolates.

Katie Anderson-Tedder is a 4th generation confectioner for Anderson's Candy Shop.

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The History of Affy Tapple, Chicago and America's First and Original Caramel Apple.

For Midwesterners, caramel apples frequently means Affy Tapple, a tradition over 70 years old. The first Affy Tapple was created in 1948 by the Kastrup family. According to history, this was the first caramel apple created in the United States - which is why their tagline is "The Original Caramel Apple!"

The Kastrup family opens an Affy Tapple store at 7117 North Clark Street in Chicago in 1952. Why the goofy name Affy Tapple? So they would be the first name in the confectionary section of the telephone book.

Chicago has long been home to many small, well-respected confectioners. Edna Kastrup was a bookkeeper in one of these establishments. When the company she worked for went up for sale, in the 1950s, she bought it. The name Affy Tapple was trademarked in 1948, said Stuart Sorkin, current President & CEO of Affy Tapple. "Kastrup was the one who really built the Affy Tapple brand to what it becomes," he said.

In 1960, schools start selling Affy Tapples to raise funds for programs. "Affy Tapple Day" quickly becomes one of the most popular days of the school year. Many fundraising events in the 1960s and early 70s bought broken stick Affy Tapples and chocolate-covered frozen bananas for 5¢ each, giving the group a little more profit.

Affy Man

The Founding Family—the Kastrups—sell their company. "Everybody and their grandmother wanted to buy it," said Sorkin. But it was he and his partners who purchased the company in 1995. It employs 35 full-time employees, some of whom have work many years for Affy Tapple. Numerous part-time workers are added during the busy season.

Affy Tapple moved from its original location on Clark Street in Chicago in 2000 to a new state-of-the-art facility in Niles, Illinois.

The company bought Mrs. Prindables in 2001, a gourmet apple and confectionery company, which sells a premium brand of handmade confections and it makes gourmet caramel apples and candies for upscale mail-order catalogs like Harry and David.

Affy Tapple operates year-round but its busiest season is mid-August through the end of November. It uses approximately 45,000 bushels of apples each year.

“Jonathan, Macintosh, and Granny Smith apples are used for Affy Tapples," said company general manager Leo Grigerio. Our gourmet brand primarily uses Granny Smith apples and occasionally Fuji. Other apples can be used for special orders.

In the fall, apples arrive in Niles from Washington state. Earlier in the year, they come from Michigan. The fruit is used within 24 hours of delivery but "you don't want the apples too cold or too hot," said Grigerio. Caramel won't stick to an apple that's wet or cold.

Affy Tapple makes each apple by hand. "Although we're in the 21st century it doesn't mean everything has evolved to the 21st-century automation," said Grigerio. 

"Individuals contribute to the success of this place."

From large bins that hold up to 14 bushels, apples are poured into the 'sticking section.' Fruits that are too small or too large are eliminated. 

A team of women, sitting around a carousel, grab individual apples and, using a press-like device, insert the wooden stick. Each worker impales 23 to 25 apples a minute.

The apples then travel up a conveyor belt where they are dipped in caramel. The same recipe has been used since the company's creation. The caramel is made in small batches, from scratch, every day. There should be at least an eighth of an inch of caramel on each Affy Tapple, said Grigerio.

The recipe's exact proportions are a secret but Grigerio said the basic ingredients are condensed milk, corn syrup, and sugar. A different, richer caramel is used in the company's gourmet products. Knowing when the caramel is done depends as much upon sight as it does upon the recipe. "It's 50 percent visual; knowing the right consistency and shine," said Grigerio.

Affy Tapples come plain and with peanuts, the latter being the overwhelming favorite. After the dipping, apples are rolled in chopped nuts. The plain variety is made on a separate production line. For those with nut allergies, there's no concern about cross-contamination.

The chilly chocolate room is where the gourmet apples are made. After apples have been dipped in caramel, they come here to be drizzled in dark chocolate, white chocolate, and sometimes both. They can also be rolled in any number of "add ons" like cashews, raisins, toffee, or whatever the customer may want.

"One of our most important philosophies is we can supply anyone with anything," Grigerio said.

Affy Tapple is ready to try anything, said Sorkin, although the results can be questionable. Harry and David asked the company for a caramel pear. It was a flop, however, because the fruit doesn't hold the coating as well as apple. Then there was the idea of combining apples with jelly beans. "Apples are great and jelly beans are great but together ... too sweet," Sorkin said.

"We have our purists and the purists are religious to Affy Tapples. We don't want to forget our roots and our roots are here in the Midwest where we have loyal, loyal customers."

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.