Grand Opening of Ye Olde Pepper Candy Pantry

Something sweet is coming to Old North’s campus! On July 1, Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie will open a pop-up shop and history experience in the 1715 Clough House, a historic brick building located behind Old North Church.  

Founded in Salem, MA, in 1806, Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie is the oldest candy company in America. The company’s signature candies, the Salem Gibralter and the Black Jack, are recognized as the first candies ever sold commercially in the United States. Both are still made by hand using their original recipes.

Mary Spencer, an English immigrant who was shipwrecked off the New England coast in the early 1800s, created the Salem Gibralter after neighbors donated a barrel of sugar to help her start over. Her son Thomas later partnered in the business before selling it to John Pepper, who created the Black Jack. The company has passed through four families and nearly two centuries, arriving at the Clough House in 2026 as a living artifact of American ingenuity and perseverance.

The pop-up shop at Old North, the Ye Olde Pepper Candy Pantry, will carry a full range of Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie’s candies, chocolates, and sweets. Beyond the treats, the space will offer a deep dive into American candy history. Visitors will encounter original manufacturing equipment from the late 1800s, historical photographs, artifacts, and a 1913 book written by the uncle of Thomas Spencer, son of company founder Mary Spencer. History cards tracing the stories of the Gibralter and Black Jack will accompany purchases, and a QR code will give visitors a live look at candy being made in the company’s Salem kitchen.

We hope you can join us at the Clough House (21 Unity St, Boston) for the grand opening on July 1 from 11am to 4pm! The Ye Olde Pepper Candy Pantry pop-up shop will run through October 31. 

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