Many immigrants arriving in America during the 19th and 20th centuries (and as many do today) had hopes of realizing “The American Dream.” David Goldenberg was one of those Dreamers. Goldenberg, born in 1864, arrived in America in 1886 with his wife, Martha. Goldenberg’s name at birth was Dovid Seltzer, a Romanian-Jewish name that he decided to change along with his new national allegiance.  Martha was not Romanian but of Russian-Jewish ancestry.

Sidebar: The National Jewish Outreach Program reports that Dovid Seltzer, a.k.a. David Goldenberg, arrived in America in 1880. Immigration records needed to confirm the year cannot be located.

By 1900, Goldenberg and his family were settled in Philadelphia and he started selling an array of sweet confectionery creations from his front porch. Goldenberg specialized in a chocolate covered bar of peanuts and molasses. His treats were a favorite of the neighborhood and eventually became popular throughout the city. As his business grew so did his need for space, so he opened a store front in 1890 on Frankfort Ave. in Philadelphia.

By 1900, the Goldenberg family at that point included one son and four daughters, all residing at 2544 Kensington Ave. Similarly, the Goldenberg’s Candy Company on Frankfort Ave. was as prolific as David and his wife.

When America finally entered World War I in 1917, the Army was in need of a food for ration kits that was, according to Philadelphia Today, “High in protein and packed with energy. . .” and met the Government’s specifications. David Goldenberg responded to the call in the form of a confectionery product that he called: Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews. (It was an early version of today’s protein bar.) According to Philadelphia Today, ” . . . the bars became a big hit, which helped it launch as a retail item not longer after World War I ended.”

What made Goldberg’s Peanut Chews different from other peanut candy bars is the exclusive use of peanut-halves and molasses, covered in dark chocolate, giving it a crunchy texture, a dark inside and a chewy, wonderful flavor. (David Goldenberg preferred dark chocolate because the higher cocoa content gives it a melting point of 113 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (45 to 48 degrees Celsius) compared to milk chocolate’s melting point of 104 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (40 to 46 degrees Celsius).) They are made without milk or eggs, an ideal candy for a vegetarian or vegan, and they are exactly the same today.

Sidebar: From the start Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews was produced as an individually wrapped bull-sized bar until 1930 when the bar was cut into 6 pieces within the wrapper.

The popularity of “the candy bar” grew from this modest beginning after World War I. Manufacturers of candy bars named their products for famous people, places and things. There was the Charleston Chew named after the dance craze (not the city) sweeping the country; and, the Baby Ruth bar because people thought it was named after the superstar baseball player, Babe Ruth. Little did they know it was really named for the late daughter of former President Grover Cleveland.

David Goldenberg passed his successful business to his family. The brand, however, remained primarily a regional market item that could be found Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. Today, the Golddenberg’s Peanut Chews is a candy produced by Just Born, Inc. of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Purchased in 2003 by Just Born, it is also the producer of other nationally sold candies, Marshmallow Peeps, Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales.

Just Born started distributing Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews in 2006, changed the formulation and widened distribution. After Just Born made those changes the product started losing sales. Philadelphians stopped buying their beloved Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews because it was not the same – nor was the broader distribution panning out. Just Born realized it lost sales of the beloved Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews in the Mid-Atlantic States from Baltimore to New York and decided to shift its marketing back to a more regional focus. Along with that change came a change in the wrapper design.

The rich history of the candy-making industry in America is filled with stories like Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews – its meager beginning and eventual success. David Goldenberg and his family created a company and a product that lasted over 100 years.

The Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews factory was a landmark in Philadelphia for many years. The aroma of roasting peanuts at one time wafted through the City; and the candy is still produced there today. Philadelphians cherish the Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews as a native son – along with the Philly Cheese Steak and Philadelphia Soft Pretzel. If you are fortunate enough to buy a pack of Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews, before enjoying the 6 pieces inside the wrapper look at the bar code on the back. It forms the skyline of the City of Philadelphia.

It is serendipitous that Just Born, Inc. is now be the owner of the Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews brand. Just Born, Inc. is a company started by Sam Born, a Russian-Jewish immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1909. Born moved to San Francisco, where in 1916 he was awarded the key to the City of San Francisco for his Born Sucker Machine that inserted sticks into a lollipops. He moved back to New York and opened a retail store in Brooklyn that sold a daily line of freshly produced candy, advertising it a freshly-made. That marketing slogan gave birth to the company name, Just Born, Inc.

Sidebar: Sam Born is credited with inventing sprinkles and the chocolate coating for ice cream.

Today, besides being sold in the Mid-Atlantic States, Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews are available through many online retailers. If you can, buy a pack. You will not regret it.