Rosalind's Candy Castle Reaches Sweet Milestone With 100 Years Of Candy Making

NEW BRIGHTON (KDKA) -- It's peanut brittle making day at Rosalind's Candy Castle in New Brighton.

Owner Jim Crudden teams up with his son, Mike, to stir the pot. The Candy Castle actually looks newer than it did on the 75th anniversary, when we visited Jim's mom and two sisters.

"My mother worked here until she was 89 years old," Jim Crudden says.

Older family members are gone now, but the recipes of the original owner, a Greek immigrant, haven't changed.

"They were written in Greek and translated to my dad and my uncle, because Gus didn't want anybody to know what the recipes were," the current owner says.

Jim has grown from a kid in a candy store to, well, a kid in a candy store. He swore not to eat any of this peanut brittle, but, "I said, well I'm going to try this little bit. And I ate a little bit more, and a little bit more. And I said, What am I doing? I can't keep eating this peanut brittle. But I couldn't stop."

Employees use the same machines that have done the job for decades. But mostly, it's "hands on." Rosalind's is one of the few shops that still hand dips chocolates.

"One thing that has changed over the years: Rosalind's is now online. In fact, the second largest state for receiving their candy is Florida. Retired Pittsburghers just love those chocolates.

Jim's son promises to keep the business going.

"I didn't want to let this place go away," Mike Crudden says. "And my dad wants to retire at some point. So I wanted to come and learn as much as I could while he's around, and continue to be here."

"We have not changed," his father adds. "Exactly the way it was first made, we still make it the same way today."

Rosalind's will hold a centennial party Saturday, Oct. 4, including:

Phil Bourque signing autographs from the Pens from 10 a.m. to noon.

Miss Pennsylvania, Amanda Smith, from 1 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

They will also raffle off two Steelers tickets and a $150 chocolate gift basket, 20 boxes of candy and $100, $75 and $50 gift certificates.

For more information, visit Rosalind's website: www.rosalindcandy.com.

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