FACT 
to 1900 when the building at 1501 E Berry Street was built. In 1902, the confections manufacturer Heit-Miller-Lau Company moved in, producing Mary Wayne Chocolates 
(aptly named after 
They continued making candies, such as vanilla cream nut clusters, and in 1947, Wayne Candies copyrighted the name "Bun Bar", and the candy as we know it was officially born! 
and 
It's also directly adjacent to 
Sturges Property Group is offering Suite 107 and 205 for lease within Olde East End, so make sure to find the listing on our website and call today for more information on this historic and iconic piece of Fort Wayne's story!Wayne Candies
Made the locally famous Bun candy bar in 3 flavors, carmel, vanilla and maple.
Wayne Candies image uploaded November 5, 2006 by Steve on flickr.com.
The BUN bar was originally made by Wayne Candy Company back in the 1920s, which was based, oddly enough in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Later the bar was bought by Clark of Pittsburgh (the Clark bar) but when Clark was ailing they sold the BUN rights off to Pearson’s in 1998.My aunt used to work here when I was a kid. I would like to find out a little more about the history of the company.
Steve McKee in 1955
Posted by Fort Wayne Memories on Wednesday, April 22, 2020Wednesday, April 22, 2020 post by Fort Wayne Memories on Facebook:
Steve McKee in 1955
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1968 - Shout Your Cobbers to a Wayne Candies 5-pack - 5 for 39 cents The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, Indiana, Tuesday, October 29, 1968, Page 8.
1968 - Shout Your Cobbers to a Wayne Candies 5-pack - 5 for 39 cents
Article from Oct 29, 1968 The Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, Indiana) 1968, Wayne candies, Bun bars -
1981 - Wayne Candies closing plant - maker of Reggie bar and Wayne Bunn candy bar
Article from Oct 7, 1981 The South Bend Tribune (South Bend, Indiana) 1981, Bun bars, Reggie bar1981 - Wayne Candies closing plant - maker of Reggie bar and Wayne Bunn candy bar The South Bend Tribune, South Bend, Indiana, Wednesday, October 7, 1981, Page 14.
1981 - The Reggie Bar strikes out - name after New York Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson
Article from Oct 7, 1981 Princeton Daily Clarion (Princeton, Indiana) 1981, Wayne candies, Bun bars, Reggie bar1981 - The Reggie Bar strikes out - name after New York Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson Princeton Daily Clarion, Princeton, Indiana, Wednesday, October 7, 1981, Page 2.
Reggie! Bar The Yankees' home opener of the 1978 season, on April 13 against the Chicago White Sox, featured a new product, the "Reggie!" bar. In 1976, while playing in Baltimore, Jackson had said, "If I played in New York, they'd name a candy bar after me." The Standard Brands company responded with a circular "bar" of peanuts dipped in caramel and covered in chocolate, a confection which was originally named the "Wayne Bun" as it was made in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The "Reggie!" bars were handed to fans as they walked into Yankee Stadium. Jackson hit a home run, and when he returned to right field the next inning, fans began throwing the Reggie bars on the field in celebration. The bar did not live for very long how,ever, and its career ended in 1981. on the-foods-we-loved.fandom.com.
The mysterious reappearance of the Reggie Bar How a beloved 1970s candy got called back up to the major leagues. September 18, 2024 on fastcompany.com.
Case of Reggie Bars $70.00 – $250.00 Experience the excitement of Opening Day 1978 at Yankee Stadium all over again with the return of the iconic Reggie Bars! on reggiejackson.com.
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1992 - Candy maker goes up for sale - Wayne Candies makers of Bun candy bars for 86 years The Daily Journal, Franklin, Indiana, Thursday, January 23, 1992, Page 8.
1992 - Candy maker goes up for sale - Wayne Candies makers of Bun candy bars for 86 years
Article from Jan 23, 1992 The Daily Journal (Franklin, Indiana) 1992, Wayne candies, Bun bars -
Maple, vanilla, or caramel covered in unsalted peanuts and milk chocolate. Started in the 1920s, was made by the local Wayne Bun Candy Company, later bought out by Clark Bar America of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, then Minneapolis, Minnesota based Pearson acquired the brand in 1998 archived on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine now at Bun Premium Cluster Bars.
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Posted by Indiana News 1 on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Sunday, November 4, 2012 post on the original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook and again Tuesday, May 21, 2013.
Susan Bienz I just learned tonight that the candy bar, Bun, were made in Fort Wayne IN. When were they in operation?
- Bun Bars on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
- The former home of Bun candy bars at 1501 E Wayne Street is now home to home to Anchor Films and Summit City Brewerksfeatured in Creative entrepreneurs inspire downtown's developing art scene Kara Hackett February 27, 2014 in The Journal Gazette newspaper archived on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
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Unknown source from 2017.
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Wayne Candies History at the The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. is from
Wayne Candies ca. 1976
By Randy Harter
Fort Wayne Reader
2017-02-03Fort Wayne’s beloved Wayne Candies started life in 1902 as the confections manufacturer Heit-Miller-Lau Company so named after the founders’ three names; Anthony Heit, Joseph Miller and Thomas Lau. The company made a number of different candies including the Mary Wayne and Lady Wayne Chocolate’s brand (named after Mary Penrose Wayne, General Anthony Wayne’s wife) and sold to drug stores, variety stores , and mom and pop grocery stores throughout the area.
In 1930 W. Charles Dickmeyer bought the Heit-Miller-Lau Company and changed the company name to Wayne Candies. Dickmeyer had been with the company since 1919, and for years previously had been the sales manager for Perfection Bakeries.
While Fort Wayne Candies had made “nut clusters” along with a host of other candies they either sold in white bags or boxed with the chocolates in brown paper holders (much like Wittman’s Samplers today), in 1947 they copyrighted “Vanilla Cream Bun,” and the Bun Bar as we know it was officially born. By 1957 the Bun Bar was popular enough that it began to appear in retailers’ newspaper ads. In 1967 the company was issued a trademark for the advertising slogan “It’s Fun To Eat A Bun” which had been developed by well-known local advertising agency executive Louie Bonsib.
Fort Wayne Candies had several locations over the years, beginning at 1131 South Calhoun, then 113 East Jefferson and finally moving into the old American Fork and Hoe plant in 1950, which had been built in 1905 for the National Handle Co. and still stands to this day at 1501 East Berry, a block west of Anthony. In 2009 Brian Schaper/Metro Realty purchased the old Wayne Candies plant and has refurbished and given it a facelift in part with a City of Fort Wayne Commercial Facade Grant. The resulting building renaissance now houses a number of businesses including Summit City Brewerks and Anchor Films. After Dickmeyer died in 1968, his family sold the company (a process he had initiated) and his son Richard Dickmeyer opened Key III Candies along with Frank Hawker and Charles Nartker in 1973 on Earth Drive at Engle Road which operated until 2012.
In the meantime, Wayne Candies and its Bun Bar brand was owned by a number of large confection companies. The first outside owner was the Leaf Confectionary division of W. R. Grace (Whopper’s Malted Milk Balls), who then resold in 1974 to the Curtiss Candy division of Standard Brands (Baby Ruth and Butterfinger). It was while Standard Brands owned the company in the late 1970’s that the Reggie Bar (essentially a repackaged Caramel Bun Bar) named after baseball player Reggie Jackson was made in the Fort Wayne plant.
Standard Brands later merged with NABISCO in 1981 and they then sold Wayne Candies to the German firm Storck USA, makers of Werther’s Original, who later divested of it in 1992 to Pittsburgh Food and Beverage, owners of the Clark Bar and Slo Poke brands. They shuttered the local plant for good and moved production to Pennsylvania in 1995. A scant three years later in 1998, Pittsburgh Food and Beverage went bankrupt and the brand was picked up by Pearson’s Candy Company of St. Paul, MN, makers of Bit-O-Honey, Coconut Patties, Mint Patties, Nut Goodie, and now Bun Bars still deliciously manufactured in Vanilla, Maple and Caramel.
(Image courtesy of ACPL)
Randy Harter is a Fort Wayne historian and author of two books on local history.
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May 8, 2017 post by Hofer and Davis, Inc. Land Surveyors on Facebook:
When we are "Out in the Field" doing a topographic survey, we like to check a U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Benchmark with a known elevation. This one is unusual because it is set in a building, in this case the old Wayne Candies, Home of the Bun Bar!
Another U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Benchmark with a known elevation is on the Bursley building built in 1913 now Party Apart on the SE corner of Superior and Clinton.
- Former Wayne Buns Factory June 13, 2018 WordPress blog.
- Fort Wayne, IN: Wayne Candies (Bun Bar) August 20, 2017 on Towns and Nature blog
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Fun Fact Friday: Bun Bar!
Did you know this famous candy bar originated from Fort Wayne? Now you do! #FunFactFriday
Posted by PBS Fort Wayne on Friday, September 13, 2024Friday, September 13, 2024 video post by PBS Fort Wayne on Facebook:
Fun Fact Friday: Bun Bar!
Did you know this famous candy bar originated from Fort Wayne? Now you do!