Object ID
2003.4.1.C
Object Name
Box, Candy
Object Collection
MARGIES CANDIES (is part of)
Date Created
1996
Material
Cardboard
Object Entities
Candies, Margie's (created by)
Poulos, Peter (owned by)
Candies, Margie's (is related to)
Poulus, Peter (is related to)
Object Description
Gold rectangular candy box. The lip is solid gold in color and has red writing in various places. In the top left corner there is seven musical notes and next to it has the text "I'm Always Thinking of..." and in the bottom left corner is the words "Preferred Assortment" both done in Arial font. In the bottom right corner is the phrase "In Tune With Your Taste" done in Times New Roman. Directly above this is "Margie's Candies" done in a cursive script font. On the length side of the side of the lid is another text saying "Margie's Candies" also in script. On the right width side there is "Margie's Candies" as well as "1960 North Western Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60647. On the left width side are the ingredients: sugar, corn syrup, salt, invert sugar, coconut, cream of tarter, cream, condensed milk, baking soda, citric acid, chocolate, fruits, nuts 22% and 33% cream, flavors and certified food colors. The inside of the lip is in a dark purple, the gold folds over about half an inch. When opening a customer would find a card. Cream in color with burgundy colored text. The center of the card reads "Margie's Candies Celebrate Our 75th Anniversary" There is an image of a heart shaped chocolate box directly under the words. In the top left corner is "I'm Always Thinking of..." and in the top right corner is "In tune with your taste since 1921" there are two music notes on the side of the three lines of text. In the bottom left there is "1960 N. Western Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60647 and on the right is "(312) 384-1035. On the back side is a letter from Margie, "Margie's Candies are all handmade. The centers are made only of the finest ingredients. The recipes for the chocolate and ice cream are Margie's exclusively. Every piece us hand made, hand dipped and hand packed. We used the finest of the Australian apricots, Hawaiian pineapple and Georgia pecan toppers. Our cream centers are the freshest and naturally flavored. We thank you for your patronage and friendship. Looking forward to our 100th Anniversary in Bucktown. Enjoy! Margie" The cover for the candies is all white with gold diagonal lines. The tray for the candy has twenty seven spots for the candies. The center is the larges square, surrounding it are multiple 1X1 squares minus one on each side of the width, which are 1X2. Under the brown tray the box is uncolored cardboard.
Origin
The original Margie’s is located on Western Avenue in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood. Initially known as the Security Sweet Shop, it was founded in 1921 by a Greek immigrant named Peter George Poulos, who soon handed the business to his son George. Chicago mobster Al Capone allegedly patronized the sweet shop during its early years.

In 1933, George Poulos renamed the confectionery Margie’s Candies in honor of his wife, whom he had met at the sweet shop as a youngster. Margie herself began running the business during the 1940s while her husband was serving in the military, and she took full control in 1954 after her husband died of an ulcer. She never remarried, and for the next forty years, she regularly worked in the restaurant for about 15 hours a day, becoming a familiar sight for customers.

Margie’s cemented its place in Chicago lore in 1965 when it hosted the Beatles, who had just played a concert at Comiskey Park. According to the Poulos family, the band came into Margie’s with five girls and ordered several six-scoop “Atomic Sundaes” to share with them. The confectionery currently has a large display of Beatles memorabilia to commemorate the visit.

Margie’s gained additional attention in the early 1990s when Margie Poulos appeared in two thirty-second clips on MTV showcasing individuals with interesting occupations. These clips, which portrayed Margie as she made chocolates, were used to fill the time between commercials and music videos. Singer Liz Phair further popularized the confectionery in 1993 when she posed there for a photograph used in a Newsweek interview.

In 2005, the original Margie’s was mentioned in one of the riddles used for the OurColony Alternate reality game. The message read, “Here sweet Margie sits. At this difference it sees the rich, the poor and everything in between”. Successful players realized that the riddle referred to Western Avenue, a long street which runs through many diverse neighborhoods.
Rights and Reproduction
The content on this site is made available for research and education purposes only. The use of these materials may be restricted by law or the donor.

Any other use, such as exhibition, publication, or commercial use, is not allowed except by written permission in accordance with the NHM Image Rights and Reproduction Policy.

For questions on image rights and reproduction, please contact nhmcollections@hellenicmuseum.org
Citation
Box, Candy, 1996, MARGIES CANDIES, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/11550. Accessed 04/19/24.