Sanders Confectionery

History

Frederick Sanders Schmidt, born in Germany, opened a candy store on Woodward Avenue at Gratiot in downtown Detroit on June 17, 1875. He used the name Sanders for the company. An earlier shop in Chicago was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, prompting a move to Detroit. Ice cream, baked goods, and sweet cream sodas were soon added.

The "Pavilion of Sweets" opened in 1891 at Michigan and Woodward avenues, featuring a red and white awning and a Moorish-style cupola; it later moved to a former Hudson's site on Woodward, renamed the "Palace of Sweets". A popular story credits Sanders with inventing the ice cream float after substituting ice cream for sour cream in a cream soda. The company's hot fudge, from a family recipe, and its bumpy cake—named for ridges of ganache-covered buttercream on top—became famous.

Sanders grew into Detroit's dominant candy company, operating neighborhood stores with counters for light lunches and soda fountain drinks. From 1941 to 1994, production occurred at a Highland Park factory that employed 300 at its peak; fresh milk came from an adjacent "Cow Palace" until city ordinances changed. The factory was sold in 1994 due to low ceilings and burned in 2012. By 1962, under founder's great-grandson John Sanders, annual sales exceeded $20 million, with 111 stores and national distribution.

Innovations

Sanders was among the first Detroit businesses open on Sunday, though it later closed on Sundays due to pressure. The Detroit Historical Society credits it with operating the first carry-out service, moving from high counters to lower table-height seating, and using dry ice to keep ice cream cold. It was also among the first in Detroit to use electric motors, which often broke down; a young Henry Ford, then a mechanic at Edison Illuminating Company, was frequently hired to repair them.

Bankruptcy and subsequent acquisitions

The company hit hard times in the 1970s and 1980s, squeezed by growing competition, and eventually had to shut its main downtown store. Stephen A. Horn took over in 1979, becoming only the second president from outside the Sanders family. A deep recession in Detroit and Michigan, along with climbing costs for sugar and chocolate, brought the company to the brink of running out of money. In 1981, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to shield itself from over 700 creditors owed $4 million in unsecured debt.

At that point, it employed 1,200 people across 50 retail outlets and its factory. In 1988, a federal appeals court approved a plan from the employees' union, United Distributive Workers Council 30, for Country Home Bakery to buy the company's assets. Morley Candy Makers purchased the Sanders name and original recipes in 2002. Country Home Bakery, now without Sanders, was bought by J&J Snack Foods in 2004.

In 2018, Kar's Nuts acquired Morley and Sanders, making Sanders a division. In 2021, Kar's and Sanders were combined under Second Nature Brands, which was bought in 2022 by UK private equity firm CapVest Limited.

Legacy

By 2014, Sanders had nine shops in metro Detroit plus two on Mackinac Island, Michigan. By 2016, it was growing as a national dessert and candy brand. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 forced closure of all but three retail locations in metro Detroit. The company then accelerated a new retail strategy, including home delivery services, in response to strong online demand.