20 Woodlawn Street and 5537 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19144
© Harold E. Spaulding,
Workshop of the
World (Oliver Evans Press, 1990).
Chester A. Asher, a Canadian
Scotch-English farm boy, started his candy company in
Center City Philadelphia in 1892. In 1899, he moved the
company to a building he had bought at 5537 Germantown
Avenue. 1
In 1910, he built
a three story brick grape juice plant behind his store
and candy-making operation. 2
By 1920, an even
larger three story brick plant had been added behind the
1910 building. In 1930, a four story brick plant was
built behind the 1920 addition and all three plants were
connected to each other. As the company grew, it became a
well-known East Coast candy maker, wholesaling its
product to large department stores, which marketed it as
"Asher's Candy."
After World War II, Chester Asher's four sons operated
the business. It slowly declined in profitability until
it was declared to be "two weeks from bankruptcy" in
1966. At that point, 35 employees were producing 125,000
pounds of candy per year and the fourth of Chester
Asher's sons died.
Two of Chester's grandsons, Jack Asher and his brother
Bob Asher, took over production. As a result of the
Asher's aggressive sales and production program, the
company now produces and sells more than 3.3 million
pounds of candy per year with over 100 employees.
To obtain the production area required for this dramatic
increase, Jack and Bob Asher bought four adjacent stores
and a small movie theater across Armat Street from the
original buildings. The Ashers linked the stores with an
overhead conveyor to the theatre, converted to a cooling
room/warehouse. The original plant buildings on the north
side of Armat Street were joined to the theater by an
even longer enclosed overhead conveyor over Armat Street.
Shipments are made from the converted theater and
expansion continues within the four former stores. Early
in 1989, a new 24 inch wide candy line was installed.
The success of the Asher Candy Company in recent years
has been a source of pride for the community. Through
development, expansion, and modernization, the company
has maintained its financial success and provided a
stable base for growth within the community.
1 "American
Journal of Progress—Germantown and Vicinity,
1899" on file at the Germantown
Historical Society.
2 "A
Grape Juice Factory" (1910), found in "Industries"
file, Box 1, Envelope 2, at the Germantown Historical
Society.
Update May
2007 (by
Linny Schenk & Michael Parrington):
The entry for this firm in
The Workshop of the World ended on a hopeful note:
“Through development, expansion, and modernization,
the company has maintained its financial success and
provided a stable base for growth within the community"
(p. 3-10). Sadly, Asher’s Chocolates (there is a
separate firm with the name Asher Candy, Inc., created
after 2002) announced its intention to leave Philadelphia
in 1998, attributing the move in part to the need to cut
expenses. “Robert Asher, grandson of the company
founder Chester Asher, said that [by] leaving behind city
payroll taxes and security expenses, the company will cut
its overhead by at least 7 percent" (Philadelphia Daily
News Nov. 5, 1996). The venerable candy firm continues to
manufacture chocolates in a 125,000-square-foot plant in
Souderton, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
The former Asher buildings on Armat Street are occupied
by Covenant House Pennsylvania (Philadelphia Daily News
July 19, 2006); those on Germantown Avenue by small
stores (cake shop, martial arts
studio).