Wayne Candies — the national-ownership years and the end of Fort Wayne production

1902 – Fort Wayne production ended 1995 (the Businesses section carries the Heit-Miller-Lau founding)

Course: In 1950 the plant moved into the old American Fork and Hoe plant; the former Wayne Candies building stands today at 1501 East Berry Street, and in 2009 the old plant was refurbished by Brian Schaper's Metro Realty with a city facade grant. The first outside owner was the Leaf Confectionery division of W. R. Grace. In 1974 Wayne Candies was resold to the Curtiss Candy division of Standard Brands; Standard Brands merged into Nabisco in 1981; the brand was then sold to Storck USA, the American arm of the German Storck company; and in 1992 Storck divested it to Pittsburgh Food & Beverage.

Fate: In 1995 Pittsburgh Food & Beverage closed the Fort Wayne plant and moved production to Pennsylvania — the end of candy making at Wayne Candies' home plant after ninety-three years. The brand's path after the closure is told two ways, and both are stated here: the Bun Bars account inserts a Clark Bar America interval (Clark buying the brand from Pittsburgh's collapse and selling it to Pearson's in 1998), while the Fort Wayne history account has Pittsburgh Food & Beverage bankrupt in 1998 and the brand passing then to Pearson's. The 1995 Fort Wayne closure itself is agreed by both.

Sources:

1. K. Harter, Wayne Candies history, Fort Wayne Reader, 19 January 2017 (Genealogy Center version, Friends of Allen County) — the 1950 move, the ownership chain 1974–1992, the 1995 closure, the 2009 refurbishment.
2. ACGSI Allen County place pages — the 1995 closure and Pennsylvania move; the 1501 East Berry Street building.
3. Wikipedia, "Bun Bars" — the Clark Bar America interval, stated as the conflicting account.