Schrafft's

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Schrafft's was a candy and chocolate company based in Sullivan Square, Charlestown, Massachusetts. The famous Schrafft's neon sign is a significant landmark in Boston, although the former factory it sits above, constructed in 1928, is now redeveloped for business accommodation.

Afterwards, Schrafft's expanded to form a restaurant chain.

Schrafft's sponsored the 1959 CBS telecast of The Wizard of Oz ^[1] , the first of the film's annual telecasts (it had been shown once on television in 1956).

In 1968, in an attempt to broaden their customer base, Schrafft's commissioned a 60 second television commercial from pop artist Andy Warhol.

[edit] History

Schrafft's was founded as a candy company by William F. Schrafft in Boston, in 1861. Frank Shattuck took over in 1898, expanding the company to include restaurants. By 1915, they had nine stores in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn, and one in Syracuse, NY as well as the facility in Boston. They had grown to 22 stores in 1923, 42 stores in 1934,^[2] and 55 stores in 1968^[3]. PET milk purchased Schrafft's in 1967; breaking the ice cream, restaurant, and candy operations into separate companies. The Ice Cream label is the only one which currently survives, having been purchased by the LeSauvage family, owners of several ice cream labels. The New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas features a Schrafft's Ice Cream parlor.

Currently the building, Schrafft's Center, is owned by the Flatley Company, and now operates as a commercial property.

[edit] Cultural References

The poet W.H. Auden wrote a piece entitled "In Schrafft's" This poem was later set to music by the composer Richard Wilson.

In the 1961 film "Breakfast at Tiffany's," Audrey Hepburn is actually eating food from a Schrafft's restaurant, as evidenced by the logo on her bag.

In 1998, Paramount released an Audrey Hepburn "Breakfast at Tiffany's" doll that includes a Schrafft's bakery bag and coffee cup among its accessories.

In the 1958 comedy "Auntie Mame," Mame's nephew becomes engaged to an air-headed girl who thinks it's just hilarious that "Patrick spoke french to a counterman at Schrafft's, can you imagine?"