Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/565724
171 The shelves at Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie in Salem are stocked with nearly endless delights: fudge, turtles, taffy, and truffles. But it is a far less well-known candy that gave this long- lived business—the oldest candy company in the coun- try—its start. Delicate, white, and flavored with lemon or peppermint, the Gibralter has a history stretching back well over two centuries. According to local lore, the candies were first made in the early 1800s, by Mrs. Spencer, a recent arrival in the city. She started selling her confections out of a horse- drawn wagon that doubled as transportation on the Under- ground Railroad, says Jaclyn Russell, daughter of current owner Robert Burkinshaw. Today, the wagon is memori- alized in the company logo. The Pepper family that gave the shop its modern-day name took over the business in 1835. In the early 20th cen- tury, an assistant candymaker named George Burkinshaw bought the confectionery from his employer; today, the fourth generation of Burkinshaws runs the shop. "It's more than just a job," says Russell. "It's in your blood." Since her childhood du- ties as unofficial taste-tester, Russell has made chocolates, handled shipping, and run the company office. Her father got started in the business during his grade school years, when the candy production was done out of the base- ment of his family home. And he can't imagine doing anything else, he says. "It's great to be a part of history," says Burkinshaw, taking a quick break from his candy-making duties. "And you don't want to let it go." Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie 122 Derby St., Salem, 978-745-2744 59 Main St., Nor th Andover, 978-557-1011 peppercandy.net photographs by Joe Ferraro Jaclyn Russell and her father, Robert Burkinshaw, now own and run the centuries- old candy shop.