Illustration:^ Ross^ MacDonaldOne Sweet Century
(and Counting)
I
T’S A WEEK after Easter and
the shelves of Eagle Family Candy
Company in Columbus, Ohio, are
mostly empty except for the green
shredded-plastic grass that lines children’s
Easter baskets. The chocolate bunnies are
all gone. I ring a bell at the counter, and
James Peck, co-owner of the company
with Dee Dee Eagle, emerges from behind
a deep-brown curtain that matches the
walls—the shop has a dark-chocolate motif.
The Eagle Family Candy Company was
founded in 1912 by George Eagle, Dee
Dee’s great-grandfather. Over the years,
the business thrived, growing to include
eight locations throughout Columbus.
Today, however, the shop on North High
Street is the only one remaining.
At Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Christ-
mas, Peck makes up to 100 pounds of
candy a day. “The toughest part about [the
business] is it’s very seasonal. You gotta
make your money when you can.”
Peck takes me behind the curtain to see
how the shop’s 20-plus varieties of candy
are made. The facility is divided into four
adjoining rooms, each with a name. The
Packing Room, where the candies are
boxed to order, sits closest to the front
of the store. Next is The Beater Room.
Here, molten sugar is whipped with butter
and flavorings in heirloom cream beaters
that combine and cool the ingredients for
buttercream. All the equipment is from
the 1940s and ’50s—stand mixers, faded
copper kettles, a water-cooled steel table
for tempering fudge and toffee. “We’re still
doing it the same way we used to,” Peck
says, referring not only to the equipment
but also to the techniques, which were
handed down by his father-in-law.
Mints are made in The Mint Room, and
all the candies are finished in The En-
rober Room, where they’re loaded onto a
conveyor belt and rolled through a curtain
of melted chocolate. As the candies exit the
enrober, they’re marked “C” for chocolate
buttercream and “V” for vanilla butter-
cream. Finally, the conveyor belt transports
the candies through an air-cooled tunnel to
The Packing Room.
Peck hands me an Eaglette, their version
of a chocolate-covered caramel turtle, one
of their best sellers. He motions to another
room, way in the back, where he keeps
his caramel cutter. I ask what he calls that
room. He looks at me sideways and says,
“Oh, that room? We just call that The
Back Room.” For more photos of our trip
to Columbus, go to CooksCountry.com/
candycompany19.
ON THE ROAD
Text by Bryan Roof;
photos by Steve Klise
Owner James Peck
(left) says the
Eagle Family Candy
Company produces
more than 20 vari-
eties of candy, but
buckeyes (below)
are the most popu-
lar. The vintage
equipment and
hands-on process
make it clear that
the old-fashioned
way is the best.