Joseph Schmidt Confections facts for kids

Joseph Schmidt Confections was a company in San Francisco that made fancy chocolates. They used special Belgian chocolate to create delicious treats. Their products included different kinds of truffles, which are like small, rich chocolate balls. Joseph Schmidt Confections stopped making chocolates in 2009.

History of Joseph Schmidt Chocolates

How Joseph Schmidt Confections Started

Joseph Schmidt Confections began in San Francisco in 1983. Joseph Schmidt was a baker who learned his skills in Europe. He opened the store with his partner, Audrey Ryan, who was also trained in Europe to make sweets. Together, they sold baked goods and chocolates. A special egg-shaped truffle became a famous product for the company.

In 1985, Joseph and Audrey brought in two new partners to help the business grow. These were Jeff Smith, who was good at running restaurants and had worked for Nestle, and Duane Papierniak, an engineer. They helped the company grow a lot, both in the United States and in other countries, until 2005.

Where Joseph Schmidt Chocolates Were Sold

At different times, you could find Joseph Schmidt chocolates in famous department stores around the world. These included Harrods and Selfridges in London, David Jones in Australia, and Takashimaya in Tokyo. They were also sold in many places in Canada.

In North America, the chocolates were available in big department stores like Neiman Marcus, Macy's, Bloomingdales, and Saks Fifth Avenue. You could also buy them in special grocery stores such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and the Fresh Market, along with other local shops.

The company also had its own stores in the Castro area of San Francisco and in San Jose.

Changes and Closing of the Company

In November 2005, a company called Artisan Confections Company bought Joseph Schmidt Confections. This company was part of Hershey, which makes many well-known chocolates. Artisan Confections had also bought another chocolate maker called Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker from nearby Berkeley, California.

Later, in November 2006, Artisan Confections bought Dagoba, a company from Ashland, Oregon that made organic chocolate. Hershey's then started to make Scharffen Berger products in a bigger factory in Robinson, Illinois.

In early 2009, Hershey's announced that they would stop making the Joseph Schmidt brand. By July 2009, the factory and the store on 16th Street in San Francisco closed down. About 150 local employees lost their jobs when the company closed.