Mary Sue is sweet win for Ruxton Chocolates

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Ruxton Chocolates, a Baltimore-based start-up company, yesterday bought the assets from the makers of the popular Mary Sue Easter Eggs at auction for $890,000, ending the run of one of the city’s oldest family-owned businesses.

William Buppert is shown after placing the winning bid for the assets of Chesapeake Candies Inc., Mary Sue Candies Inc. and Naron Candy Co.

Chesapeake Candies Inc., Mary Sue Candies Inc. and Naron Candy Co. Inc. filed for state court insolvency, the equivalent of bankruptcy in federal court, on Aug. 30 after amassing more than $1.2 million in debt and suffering from high costs in the distribution end of the business.William Buppert, head of Ruxton Chocolates, revealed little about his plans for the company, other than he wanted to maintain the tradition of the popular Baltimore candy line and make the business profitable again. Buppert also declined to disclose some of his other investments, but said this is his first venture into the candy business.“We are just very happy,” Buppert said. “Hopefully, we can return it to profitability. We are very happy we were able to purchase the Mary Sue name. We are looking forward to increased sales in the future.”About 50 bidders and spectators attended the auction at the candy factory at 707 S. Caton Ave., many huddling in small groups or leaning against shiny metal tables where the candy and gourmet chocolate are made. The bidding started at $500,000, and Ruxton Chocolates sparred with Baltimore businessman Eric Weinstein for control of the assets, which included equipment, trade names, a manufacturing plant and a list of customers.

Weinstein’s last bid of $885,000 fell just short, and Daniel M. Billig, a partner at the auctioneer A.J. Billig & Co. Auctioneers, which handled the auction, could not coax Weinstein into raising his bid to $900,000 “to knock [Buppert] out.” “We have had very few auctions this year that have generated more interest than Naron Mary Sue,” Billig said. Allan D. Gallant, president of Sam’s Bagels, formed a new company called Greenspring Gourmet LLC for the sole purpose of bailing out the candy company, but was outbid during the auction held at the company’s 18,300-square-foot Southwest Baltimore plant. Mark Berman, president of Mary Sue and Naron and an investor in Greenspring Gourmet, looked disappointed after the auction in not winning the bid, and did not know his immediate plans. Berman, whose grandfather founded Mary Sue in 1948, said he would not mind staying in the business with Ruxton Chocolates, and was not surprised at the interest in the auction.“It is a solid company that has been around for a long time,” Berman said. “We expected the price to go that high or even higher.”Both Mary Sue and Naron are longtime Baltimore institutions that have sold candy for more than a half century. The popular Mary Sue Easter Eggs song can be heard on radio and television stations throughout the late winter and spring, and serves as a local motif for the holiday. Berman said the company ran into trouble with costs for the distribution side of the business, and that the 1996 merger between Naron and Mary Sue was more expensive than anticipated because of debt and consolidating operations. Berman said the company, which has about $35 million in annual sales, normally employs about 35 people, but hires as many as 65 additional workers during holiday seasons. “The economy of scale did not materialize,” Berman said about the bankruptcy. “The costs for the merger were greater than anticipated. We should have never gotten into the distribution business because we were too small.”James Ross, another of the candy company’s original founders, said he was a bit disappointed to see the business taken away from the family, but admitted the outcome was inevitable.“I am not going to celebrate, but it is one of those things that happen,” Ross said. “It is a normal pattern of life.”