Minnesota has lost a 67-year-old candy-making landmark, the latest in a string of longtime food factory closures affecting workers around the country. Pearson’s Candy Company ended production at its St. Paul manufacturing plant on September 28, 2026, closing the West Seventh Street factory where generations of Minnesotans made Salted Nut Roll, Nut Goodie and other familiar sweets.
Roughly 80 jobs are being eliminated in connection with the shutdown. An updated Minnesota WARN notice shows that some employees are staying on temporarily for wind-down work, including workers whose termination dates were moved to October 31 and another employee scheduled to remain through November 24.
A 67-year-old St. Paul factory closes
Pearson’s roots stretch back much further than the plant itself. The company traces its history to 1909, when P. Edward Pearson started a confectionery distribution business in Minneapolis with his brothers. Nut Goodie arrived in 1912, followed by the Salted Nut Roll in 1933.
The company moved operations to St. Paul in 1950 and opened the West Seventh Street manufacturing plant in 1959. That means the facility had been producing candy for roughly 67 years when production stopped this fall.
The original WARN filing said the plant was no longer financially sustainable to operate. MPR News reported that higher production costs and rising prices for ingredients such as chocolate were among the pressures facing the factory.
About 80 jobs are being cut
The initial closure notice said 80 employees would be terminated. The September revision added one worker to the closure list but rescinded the planned termination of another employee whose skills are still needed, keeping the overall impact at about 80 jobs. Some affected production workers are represented by Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 22.
The affected positions span the operation, including candy makers, machine operators, maintenance workers, quality-control staff, shipping employees and managers. While most production ended September 28, the revised notice makes clear that a small number of workers are staying longer to finish the shutdown process.
The candy brands may continue
The factory’s closure does not necessarily mean Pearson’s candy brands are disappearing. Parent company Promise Confections has said it is exploring alternative manufacturing arrangements and potential strategic partnerships that could keep legacy products in production.
There is also a local effort to preserve more of the company’s Minnesota history. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported after the shutdown that a group of investors, including former Pearson’s co-owner Larry Hassler, had approached the current owner about buying the company or plant. As of early October, no agreement had been announced.
For St. Paul, though, the immediate change is significant: a factory that operated on West Seventh Street for nearly seven decades has stopped making candy, and about 80 manufacturing jobs are being eliminated as the wind-down continues.
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