D.L. Clark Company
1886 - 1995
BiographyThe D. L. Clark Company traces its roots to Pittsburgh’s North Side in 1886 when David L. Clark, an Irish immigrant, first began selling candies out of a horse-drawn wagon. In 1911, the Clark Company considerably expanded their business by acquiring a candy and cracker company in the North Side. During these years of development, the Clark Company quickly became renowned for their innovations in candy production. In particular, the company is known for its addition of mint, peanut butter and coconut to chocolate candies. By 1920, the Clark Company was producing close to 150 different kinds of candy. The Clark Company also ventured into the market of chewing gum production at this time. The most enduring evidence of this venture is the company’s production of Teaberry gum. Over the next ten years, D. L. Clark recognized the growing market for candy bars and subsequently decided to concentrate production on five-cent chocolate bars. Consequently, the company became internationally renowned for its production and sale of chocolate bars, including the Clark Bar and the Zagnut Bar. All throughout these years of production, the Clark Company remained at the North Side location it acquired in 1911. As a result, the oversized Clark sign atop the factory became a longstanding Pittsburgh landmark. In 1983, the confectioner company, Leaf, Inc. acquired the D.L. Clark Company. Although Leaf, Inc. closed the North Side factory in the spring of 1986, it chose to sustain Clark candy manufacturing in the Pittsburgh area by relocating production to a plant in O’Hara Township. Leaf, Inc. then sold the rights to the Clark Bar to Pittsburgh Food and Beverage Company. After years of financial instability, this company reconstituted itself under the name of Clark Bar America in June of 1995. In May of 1999, this company was purchased by the New England Confectionary Company (NECCO).
