Idaho Candy Company
Keeping Idaho sweet since 1901
Thanks to the Wagers family
Idaho Candy Company began as a dream for T.O. Smith in 1901. T. O. was a journeyman candymaker who found himself out of work after helping build the Dewey Palace Hotel in Nampa, Idaho. He started making chocolates in his garage and selling them; soon the company began to grow. In 1909, Mr. Smith found several investors, including Charles Adams, to help build a modern factory at 412 South 8th Street in Boise. The facility, which had the latest conveniences, was the first building in Idaho with skylights and a “welfare room” for the employees.
The Adams family maintained ownership in Idaho Candy Company until 1968, when Don Wakeman, a former plant manager’s son, bought it. In 1984, John and Mary Wagers purchased Idaho Candy Company, and the Wagers family still owns and operates it.
The company has grown into a regional candy manufacturer that has produced more than 50 different candy bars through the years, as well as many varieties of boxed chocolates. Three of those candy bars are still in production: Idaho Spud Bar (1918), Old Faithful Bar (1925) and Cherry Cocktail Bar (1925). The factory also produces three varieties of Owyhee Butter Toffee: original chunk style (1925), bite-sized and chocolate-covered.
Idaho Candy Company’s most famous employee is most definitely Violet Brewer. Vi’s first job was stoking the coal furnace at the young age of 13. Later, she became the premier chocolate hand-dipper. In 1995, Vi finally retired, 82 years after she started. She died in 2001 at the age of 101. Turns out making candy will give you a long, sweet life.
Idaho Candy Company is proud to be Idaho’s candy company, and happy to have made generations of Idahoans’ lives a little sweeter.
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