Ferrara Candy Company is bringing its new headquarters to the Old Main Post Office in downtown Chicago, officials announced Thursday.
The move from Oakbrook Terrace back to the city where the company first started will bring 400 new jobs, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.
“We are welcoming a great company with deep roots in Chicago back home,” Emanuel said in a statement. “Chicago not only leads the country in corporate relocations every year for the last five years, but we lead the country in the growth of jobs in the food industry. We are glad that a company that had been part of Chicago’s past will now be part of our city’s future.”
Ferrara Candy Company was founded in 1908 when Salvatore Ferrara began selling candy-coated almonds at his bakery in the city’s Little Italy neighborhood.
The new headquarters will take up 77,000 square feet at the post office building in the 400 block of West Van Buren. The building is also set to house a new Walgreens office opening in the fall of 2019.
“The Old Post Office will be more than just a workspace – it will be a destination, and one that is consistent with the brand, culture and community we are building at Ferrara,” said Todd Siwak, CEO of Ferrara Candy Company, said in a statement. “We appreciate Mayor Emanuel’s encouragement and the continued support from the City of Chicago as we prepare for this transition.”
The company plans to relocate more than 400 employees from the Oakbrook Terrace headquarters to Chicago next summer.
