The era of local candy production for a widely cherished Bay Area treat is coming to a bittersweet end, as the Annabelle Candy Company has confirmed it will shut down its Hayward plant this September. The plant, producing popular confections like Rocky Road, Big Hunk, and Abba-Zaba bars for 74 years, will close its doors on Sept. 27, leaving 43 employees out of work. This decision was detailed in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed by the company, as noted in a report from the San Francisco Chronicle.
The impact of this closure will be profoundly felt, not only by the company's employees but by the community that has grown up with these confections as a part of their local heritage. The WARN notice, as shared by the SFGATE, explains that the imminent layoffs will include 17 production workers. Michael McGee, CEO of Promise Confections, the parent company of Annabelle Candy Co., cited "a lack of financial sustainability" as the reason for the plant's closure, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
The plant's history is deeply rooted in the Bay Area, tracing back to when founder Sam Altshuler, an immigrant from Russia, began selling candies on San Francisco's Market Street. In the 1950s, the company's signature candy bar, the Rocky Road—composed of marshmallows, toasted cashews, and milk chocolate—catapulted to local fame. This historical tidbit was highlighted by SFGATE, illustrating the loss of a significant piece of Bay Area confectionery history.
The plant closure comes after the company sold several properties, including the facility at 27211 Industrial Blvd., to the investment firm Fortress for $13 million in 2022, as reported by the SF Chronicle. In his statement, McGee expressed regret over the shutdown, "We deeply regret the impact this closure will have on our employees and are fully committed to supporting our staff through this transition and will be working closely with them and the Union," wrote McGee, as cited by the San Francisco Chronicle.
