Saturday, July 10, 2004 Question: What Ever Happened to Fannie Farmer?
A reader writes: “What happened to Fannie Farmer Candies? All the retail stores in Massachusetts seem to have gone away. They were the only place I could get buttercream chocolates. Lindt and Godiva do not seem to do buttercreams, and in the case of Godiva their chocolates are very pricey. At least Fannie Farmer used to be a reasonable price and were good.” Sad to say, Fannie Farmer/Fannie May went out of business (actually, they filed Chapter 11) earlier (January) this year. … They were purchased from Archibald Candy (who continues to operate Laura Secord in Canada) by Alpine Confections of Alpine, Utah (along with Fannie May favorites like Mint Meltaways and Pixies, Alpine’s brands include Botticelli, Dolce D’Or, Lollipals, Hallmark Chocolatier, and Mrs. Fields’). As part of the Chapter 11 filing, Archibald closed the Chicago manufacturing plant and all 228 Fannie Farmer stores – 112 in the Chicago area alone. On the company’s web site (http://www.fanniemay.com) is a note that they
