Pearson's Candy Company shuts down St. Paul factory for good
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The longtime St. Paul factory behind Pearson’s Salted Nut Roll is shutting down for good Monday.
Pearson’s Candy Company said rising production costs and higher prices for ingredients like chocolate made operating the 67-year-old factory unsustainable. The company said it was laying off about 80 employees.
Pearson’s Candy Company declined to comment.
What are community members saying?
Ruth Markowitz and Gayle Winegar are both St. Paul residents and good friends. They both have fears of what business the city could lose next.
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“I was really sad to hear that this is closing, really sad,” Markowitz said. “It just gave people jobs, it gave people pride, it gave people another thing from St. Paul.”
Markowitz, a St. Paul resident for over 27 years, said she would drive by the factory often.
“I would think, ‘That's amazing’ that like national nut roll is down the block from me, and it makes me so happy that it's a local thing, and it makes it real,” she said.
Winegar said it felt like a national disaster to her friend when the news broke, who asked her for a picture of the factory before it shut down for good.
The factory didn’t hold the same sentiment for Winegar, but she remembers getting a Nut Goodie from her local grocery store as a kid.
“I feel like I'm watching a body break. That's what it feels like to me, and it makes me sad,” Winegar said. “And I have hope for St. Paul, so I'm not going to say it's dead and buried, but it makes me sad.”
Anne Charlet is from South St. Paul but currently lives in France. She said one of the first things she does when visiting is grab a Salted Nut Roll.
“Peanuts are not a big thing in France,” Charlet said. "I just like the taste and flavor and the crunch. I just worry that the quality will go down, too.”
She understands the reason Pearson's gave for closing but has questions of her own.
"We’re old enough to have seen a lot of places close down, and you have to just have these little moments of grief," Charlet said. "And then there goes another one.”
