Three centuries of goodness: Seroogy’s turns 125

Rich Palzewic

Staff

September 9, 2024

DE PERE – It’s not often a business can say it’s been around for 125 years, but such is the case for a candy store in Northeastern Wisconsin.

Seroogy’s, with storefronts in Ashwaubenon (784 Willard Drive) and De Pere (144 N. Wisconsin St.), has been making hand-dipped chocolates since 1899 – 20 years before the Green Bay Packers became a franchise.

“One-hundred-twenty-five years is a long time – it’s nice to have a history,” Joe Seroogy, who co-owns the business with his brother Jim, said. “It’s been fun and entertaining. We’ve gotten to know many people over the years.”

Taking over in 1980, the current Seroogy brothers have been in that role for more than a third of the candy store’s history.

“When we came in from our other careers – I was a teacher and Joe was a social worker – we had other ideas to help grow the business,” Joe said. “Our father had other ideas, but eventually, he agreed with us. We have a great crew working for us – they are proud of the product. When Jim and I took over, our mission was to make sure the product looked and tasted the same as it (decades before us).”

Joe said before moving away to teach, he worked in the shop.

“Everybody had to,” he said. “I grew up in the business.”

Meltaway bars, candies

One of the first things people think of with Seroogy’s, Marjorie Hitchcock, director of marketing, said is the meltaway chocolate.

“We make the different meltaway chocolate bars for fundraisers and the store,” she said. “Our goal for this year is to make 2.5 million of those bars. For a little company, that’s a lot.”

Hitchcock, who has been with Seroogy’s for 32 years, said using the bars for fundraisers is “very important to Seroogy’s.”

“We’ve probably been doing that for close to 50 years,” she said. “We offer our selection of candy bars at 50% profit, and that’s certainly very helpful to nonprofit organizations.”

Seroogy’s has also handed out chocolate in De Pere’s Memorial Day Parade for the past 25 years, Hitchcock said.

“This year, I think we gave out about 30,000 meltaway bars,” she said.

Hitchcock said though many things have stayed the same in the last 125 years, some things have changed.

“We have added some new products to keep up with the times,” she said. “We sell more dark chocolate than we used to – but we still sell four times more milk chocolate than dark because that’s what the community likes the best. Of course, our technology production has changed a bit, but we still offer that strong customer service.”

Though Hitchcock said the store has probably shipped to every state in the country – though that’s a bit more difficult during the summer months.

“Obviously, warm temperatures and chocolate don’t go together well during shipping,” she said.

A family affair

Joe said four Seroogy brothers, along with his grandpa, began making fine chocolate candies in De Pere 1899.

“It didn’t originally start right away as a candy shop,” he said. “It was a restaurant, but one day, they decided to make some fudge to see if the customers liked it. As they say, ‘the rest is history.’”

Joe said each of the brothers seemed to take turns pursuing their own endeavors in the early years.

“Eventually, they always managed to come back together,” he said. “We were not confectioners by trade. That was something that was learned.”

Back then, Joe said, everybody –  including other candy shops – was friendly.

“If Mel Beerntsen needed 60 pounds of cashews, no problem – we’d help him out,” he said. “If we needed corn syrup, we’d call Billy Oaks in Oshkosh and he’d probably drive it up. There wasn’t as much competition back then. Eventually, there were probably 10 candy stores in the Green Bay area. That was before candy became a staple in supermarkets.”

Joe said every candy store has its own unique touch and methods.

“Beerntsen’s is known for its creams,” he said. “I think we are known for our fudge, meltaway chocolates and caramels.”

Though some things have changed in the industry, Joe said other things have remained the same.

“We take pride in pointing out that a box of our candy today would look exactly like it did in 1899,” he said. “Yes, the handling and processing of it has changed, but the ingredients, the flavor and recipes have stayed the same for 125 years.”

Joe said the current De Pere location began operations in 1992, with the Ashwaubenon spot opening in 2008.

“Even before we moved into our current spot in De Pere, we were only about a half-mile from here up the road,” he said. “Before that, we were in downtown De Pere. The original storefront was on Washington Street in downtown Green Bay.”

125-year celebration

To commemorate its 125 years of history, Hitchcock said Seroogy’s will be celebrating at both locations Saturday, Sept. 28.

“The event will go from noon to 3 p.m.,” she said. “It will be a big celebration for our customers and community. We’ll be having special events during those three hours – drawings, discounts, samples, etc. A balloon artist is coming to make balloon animals for children. Throughout the year, we’ve talked about our history a little bit in our newsletter as well.”

Seroogy succession plan

Joe said he’s not sure of a succession plan quite yet.

“My daughter lives in Hawaii, and I don’t think she’s coming back,” he laughed. “My son lives in Madison and likes it there. At this point, we don’t have firm plans for our succession.”

Time, Joe said, will tell the future of Seroogy’s.

For now, however, the brothers said they plan to continue to do what they do best – make chocolate.

For more information on Seroogy’s, visit seroogys.com.