If you love candy and live in the Downtown Chicago area,we’ve got some sweet news for you. Oakbrook Terrace-based candy company Ferrara Candy Co. announced earlier this month that they will be moving their headquarters to Downtown Chicago near business apartments and short-term rentals into the old Chicago Post Office Building.
Ferrara Candy Co.,which produces classic candies such as Nerds and Lemonheads,currently has about 300 employees in their current Oakbrook Terrace headquarters which is near corporate housing as well. Ferrara CEO Todd Siwak says that the company is planning to add another 100 employees or so after the move,bringing their workforce to 400 in the new offices.
Ferrara was able to secure a lease on the old Chicago Post Office Building after the city of Chicago found out that Apple didn’t plan on expanding into the same building,a rumor that circulated for a while. The old post office,located near The Loop,has been vacant since 1996. According to city officials,the building is currently being renovated ahead of the new tenants.
Ferrara Candy Co. employees won’t be all alone in the building,either. Walgreens announced earlier this year that they’ll be moving 1,800 corporate employees into the same building next year as well. The building,which is an iconic landmark to longtime Chicago residents,will cost $800m to renovate,according to reports.
The Ferrara family has a long history in food,specifically in candy. Originally bakers in Italy in the 1800s,the family moved to New York at the turn of the century to open themselves up to new opportunities. In 1908 the family moved to Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood and opened a bakery. They sold typical bakery items,but they also made and sold their own candy,which is how they started out in this business. Once the family realized that their candy business was more valuable than their bakery business,they adjusted their priorities accordingly and the rest is history.