Sweet dreams as Ontario town awaits Hershey factory return

On his room table, Brent Whiten lays retired binders packed with photos and memorabilia from his clip moving astatine the nearby former Hershey chocolate factory in Smiths Falls, Ont.

Like truthful galore residents of the municipality located about an hour's drive southwest of Ottawa, Whiten is searching for clues about what Hershey will do with the mill it re-purchased from a cannabis institution astir 2 years ago.

"I'm ever driving by to spot if they've got the Hershey motion connected determination yet.... To this day, it does not person the Hershey sign," Whiten said.

"We don't cognize if it's staying oregon it's going, but I anticipation it does enactment due to the fact that we could usage that for Smiths Falls for sure."

When CBC News visited the mill successful mid-April, lone a fistful of vehicles sat in the vast parking lot. During the Hershey days, the batch was packed with hundreds of workers and busloads of visiting tourists and schoolhouse groups.

The motion retired beforehand has nary notation of Hershey oregon the erstwhile proprietor Canopy Growth. White letters spell retired "Visitor Centre."

Whiten was 1 of the past employees erstwhile Hershey near the municipality successful the precocious 2000s. He started out packing boxes earlier helium worked astatine the cocoa almond polishing presumption and yet operated hot vats that melted the ingredients successful Eat-More bars.

"They were bully to us. Good to our family," helium said, reminiscing astir institution parties, fundraisers and decades of unchangeable work.

Sale to cannabis company

Whiten said immoderate engineers continued to enactment astatine different Hershey locations and whitethorn beryllium moving connected what's to travel successful Smiths Falls. But ever since it re-purchased the property in August 2023, the institution has been tight-lipped astir what volition beryllium made of the plant.

From 2017 to 2023, the historic mill was owned by Canopy Growth (formerly Tweed), a institution that rode the hype of aesculapian and past recreational cannabis legalization to determination hundreds of millions of dollars into the installation and treble its size.

But the institution has scaled backmost its beingness successful the municipality it was erstwhile credited as saving. It present operates a bottling works crossed Hershey Drive from its aged headquarters.

Amy Rensby, proprietor of C'est Tout Bakery and Bistro successful downtown Smiths Falls, said the nonaccomplishment of a major leader successful that facility hurts smaller operations.

"It surely reduced the magnitude of concern that we spot present ... and crossed the community," she said, noting she utilized to capable 2 oregon 3 ample catering orders for on-boarding and different company-hosted events.

She said there's anticipation Hershey volition bring opportunity, adjacent if close present it's mostly a source of intrigue and gossip.

"A batch of conversation, a batch of supposition, a batch of guessing astir what possibly is happening retired of the Hershey factory," Rensby said.

"I don't deliberation a institution buys oregon invests successful a spot similar that … without the volition of coming to run successful immoderate way, signifier oregon form."

Hershey instrumentality a full-circle moment

Leslie Richardson, enforcement manager of the Smiths Falls and District Chamber of Commerce, called Hershey's instrumentality a "sweet" full-circle infinitesimal for the town.

Growing up, she said young radical often got a occupation either with Parks Canada astatine the Rideau Canal Locks oregon moving successful the factory. She herself spent 1 summertime connected the Oh Henry! line.

"We're not a one-industry municipality anymore. We are precise resilient and we are precise growth-minded," she said, pointing to the luxury rental concern Le Boat.

Still, she said a ample leader successful the mill would person spin-off benefits for section plumbers, electricians and alarm strategy companies. Not to notation the sweets.

"I would anticipation we would get immoderate candy, possibly immoderate licorice. I bash fancy an Oh Henry! Bar," she said.

One theory winding done municipality similar a licorice whip is that the institution volition commencement producing Twizzlers locally, but wherefore that rumour has stuck is simply a mystery.

Tariff concerns

Mayor Shawn Pankow is inactive optimistic Hershey is readying to acceptable up for the agelong term but understands wherefore radical are asking questions.

"For a while, it was quiet. People assumed Hershey was moving connected their plans," helium said. "But since the tariff communicative has deed america all, more radical person been acrophobic astir [tariffs]."

"There's astir apt no impact connected the aboriginal of this installation different than wherever they pivot the accumulation lines. Would they pivot connected the markets they whitethorn yet administer to?"

The U.S. market is a large portion of the occurrence of the Canadian cocoa and candy industry. The vulnerability to that hazard whitethorn hold large investments from candy companies.

Eighty percent of each sweetener and confectionery merchandise manufacturing income successful Canada go to the U.S., according to Farm Credit Canada. Statistics Canada lists cocoa and cacao products arsenic Ontario's 2nd largest nutrient export, worthy $1.86 cardinal past year.

Recent upwind events are besides driving up the outgo of inputs, specified arsenic sweetener and cocoa, according to economical advisor Sébastien Pouliot.

"Any steadfast indispensable marque that concern determination thinking: are we expecting tariffs successful the agelong term? Are they going to travel back? Is that the caller reality? Or it's conscionable a fad that's going to past the abbreviated term?" Pouliot said.

In an email, Hershey said the institution is early successful its process and the timing is "premature" to speculate on job instauration successful Smiths Falls.

"The task is simply a strategical acquisition and is different measurement successful our continuing concern successful our proviso concatenation web to alteration our starring snacking powerhouse vision," spokesperson Todd Scott said.

Chocolate aroma

Meanwhile, the politician and enclosure of commerce are pointing to Hershey's sponsorship of Smiths Falls Old Home Week arsenic a motion of the company's committedness to the community.

The festival is held each 25 years, partially to gully tourists and partially to enactment as a reunion for existent and erstwhile residents.

"The biggest happening they wanted to cognize was the societal and economical interaction this festival would person connected the assemblage — they weren't truly funny successful the advertising," co-organizer Christa Dales-Donnelly said.

Even though Dales-Donnelly said organizers are talking with Hershey representatives — including astir a imaginable parade interval — they person questions similar everyone else.

"Are determination going to beryllium jobs for 1 thing, and are determination going to beryllium tours truthful we tin ticker it again?" she said.

Though Brent Whiten wouldn't beryllium moving a enactment if the works does reopen, he's anxious to get backmost wrong the doors.

"I'd emotion to spell for a circuit myself to spot what it truly looks similar aft each the changes," helium said.

But astir of all, helium wants the instrumentality of the saccharine odor helium remembers from his childhood.

"I would similar to spot cocoa travel backmost successful the works due to the fact that the aroma of cocoa successful the town, we miss that large time," helium said.