O’Shea’s Candies

Company Overview

It began in a family kitchen in 1934. Four Generations of Family Ownership.

Our family business started in 1934 in the Walnut Grove area, and is still located at the same chocolate factory where we manufacture our chocolates today.

Thomas and Helen O’Shea started making homemade chocolates during the depression. Tom worked for Penn Traffic Kitchen, and one day he and his wife, Helen decided to start their own chocolate business. When the opportunity was right, they purchased property next to their home and built a small chocolate factory and penny candy store. It was a local tradition for many of the school kids to save up their pennies and stop in for a chocolate treat.

Each week Helen would take a bus downtown to drop off samples and visit office buildings and hand out samples of their chocolates. She then went back the next day and picked up orders for the homemade chocolates to be delivered each week. As the demand for candy grew they built a small store where they could cook and hand-dip their fresh-made chocolates. Soon the business began to grow.

In the 1960s, Bob O’Shea and his wife, Kay continued the family business as the second-generation owners. They opened up a second store in the Geistown shopping Center. Bob & Kay purchased Penn Traffic Candy in 1977, and expanded the line of chocolates to include, the famous coconut cream Penn pigs. They also purchased Kuhn Coffee company and its salted nuts business.

Store number three opened, when Russ and Karen (O’Shea) Brubaker took over operations of the business. They opened a store in Westmont where their line of chocolates is still growing out of the Westwood plaza. Here they serve the surrounding communities and this bedroom community with wide assortment of chocolates.

Russ & Karen started making their own cream and butter fudge in six different flavors. They have expanded their business beyond the borders of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. They now ship their chocolates all over the United States with the development of an online store.

Karen Brubaker believes that love, experience, and a desire to keep the O’Shea’s name going will keep the business passing from generation to generation. Karen’s son Matt Brubaker and his wife Kristy recently joined the family business in 2015. They have recently relocated back to the area and joined the family business to ensure decades of continued growth of O’Shea’s Candies. Our family is passionate about chocolate and our quality and old -fashioned techniques are key to our success.

Today, four generations later, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren are still making these delicious candies. We continue to make local deliveries in the Johnstown area and mail orders to customers in the United States.

Thank you for making us part of your family.