Schrafft's

Schrafft's was a candy, chocolate and cake company based in Sullivan Square, Charlestown, Massachusetts. The famous Schrafft's neon sign is a significant landmark in Boston, although the former factory it sits above, constructed in 1928, has been redeveloped for business accommodation. Schrafft's later expanded to form a chain of Schrafft's restaurants in New York, and a collection of motor inns and restaurants along the eastern seaboard from New England to Florida during the 1950s and 1960s.

Shrafft's City Center campus (September 2016)
The Schrafft Center office complex in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the former factory that produced Schrafft's candies.(March 2008)

History

Schrafft's was founded as a candy company by William F. Schrafft in Boston, in 1861. Frank Shattuck took over in 1898, expanding the company to include restaurants. By 1915, they had nine stores in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn, and one in Syracuse, NY, as well as the facility in Boston. They had grown to 22 stores in 1923, 42 stores in 1934,[1] and 55 stores in 1968.[2]

Schrafft's sponsored the 1959 CBS telecast of The Wizard of Oz,[3] the first of the film's annual telecasts (it had been shown once before on television in 1956).

PET milk purchased Schrafft's in 1967, breaking the ice cream, restaurant and cake, and candy operations into separate companies. The ice cream is produced under license by the company.

In 1968, in an attempt to broaden their customer base, Schrafft's commissioned a 60-second television commercial from pop artist Andy Warhol.

The company's former candy factory in Boston was turned into commercial office space. Located at 529 Main Street, Charlestown, Massachusetts, it is known as the Schrafft Center and owned by the Flatley Company. Among its tenants are Business Valuation Resources, Boston Digital, Fitcorp, All IT Supported, Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Beacon Hospice, iCorps Technology, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Newton Scientific, Telemundo Boston, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

in 2019, James Byrne, a godson of the Shattucks, the founding family of Schrafft's Restaurants, announced the return of the brand with plans to open brick-and-mortar retail in the near term.

References
  1. Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the United States
  2. Time magazine October 25, 1968, "Schrafft's Gets With It"
  3. Wizard of Oz Holiday Broadcasts

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