Enstrom`s Candies turns 50 - Manufacturing Confectioner

Enstrom’s Candies turns 50
“just making a little almond toffee”
I
n 1919 Chet Enstrom got his start in the candy business when he went to work in the ice cream shop of
Barthel’s Confectionery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. When his shift ended, he often helped out in the
candy factory, quietly learning the candymaker’s art.
Chet perfected the art of blending the finest ingredients to create batches of almond toffee as gifts for family and friends. His almond toffee was gaining a
reputation. At the urging of family and friends, Chet
and his wife, Vernie, founded Enstrom Candies in
Chet Enstrom, founder
Grand Junction, Colorado in 1960.
Enstrom’s began as a mail order company selling almond toffee. There were
four items in the earliest catalogs: 1 lb
box of almond toffee, 2 lb box of almond
toffee, 3 lb box of almond toffee and 5 lb
box of almond toffee.
In 1964 the governor of Colorado
appointed Chet Enstrom to a vacant senate
seat, so Chet’s son and daughter-in-law,
Jamee Enstrom Simons encouraged Christmas
Emil and Mary, took over the business. In
toffee purchases.
1970 they bought the business from Chet.
Under Emil and Mary, the business grew
with a dedication to a nurtured, ethical, customer-service-oriented business.
By 1965 Enstrom’s was shipping
almond toffee worldwide; in 1979 Chet’s
granddaughter, Jamee, and her husband,
Doug Simons, joined the company. Jamee
had been interested in the business from
the time she was a small girl, dipping rocks
Jamee and Doug Simons
Emil (at right) and Chet (center)
Enstrom forming and rolling the
candy cane batch.
Doug Simons making toffee at Enstrom’s.
continued on page 26
(L-R)Vernie, Chet, Mary and Emil Enstrom; Jamee and Doug Simons.
The Enstrom main storefront in downtown Grand Junction.
The Manufacturing Confectioner • December 2010 25