成人X站

Love ’em or hate ’em, Aplets & Cotlets, a strongly flavored variation on a fruit candy known as 鈥淭urkish Delight,鈥� have been a Northwest fixture for decades. But now, they鈥檙e going away forever.

鈥淲e had decided several years ago that we wanted to try to sell the business, and we’ve worked at that, and we’ve had some interest, and we’ve come close a couple of times, but we haven鈥檛 been able to put the deal together,鈥� Greg Taylor, president of Liberty Orchards, the company that makes the candy, told 成人X站 Radio on Wednesday morning.

鈥淎nd so we’ve decided it’s time to move on,鈥� he added.

The powdered-sugar covered chewy candies are made in a small factory in Cashmere, Washington, in Chelan County, west of Wenatchee along Highway 2. was founded at least 101 years ago 鈥� nobody鈥檚 exactly sure 鈥� by Greg Taylor鈥檚 grandfather and uncle.

Liberty Orchards is privately held and doesn鈥檛 release sales figures, but Greg Taylor says the company is on the smaller side, compared with other candy manufacturers, in a category he describes as 鈥渓ess than $25 million a year in sales.鈥� It鈥檚 unclear what the sale price of the company would be.

Taylor, who is 72 years old, has been the president of Liberty Orchards for 43 years. He says that the decision to close was not directly related to COVID, but the pandemic did contribute to a more difficult economic environment. A bigger factor, Taylor says, was that there wasn鈥檛 interest among younger family members in continuing to operate Liberty Orchards.

鈥淚 certainly don’t want to put this on the next generation, but for the fourth generation of family, they’re not here. They didn’t grow up in Cashmere. They didn’t grow up in the business,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭hey’re in midlife for the most part. They have lives of their own, they have jobs, and careers, and families, and they like where they live.鈥�

鈥淪o there’s just, you know, no one in the family that’s ready to take my place,鈥� Taylor said.

鈥淭he whole thing is emotional at this point,鈥� Taylor continued. “But I’m happy that the fourth generation has found other things to do.鈥�

Staff levels vary throughout the production year, but Taylor says Liberty Orchards employs the equivalent of about 55 full-time employees. Many have been on the job for decades.

Greg Taylor says the target date for shutting down operations in Cashmere is June 1, 2021. At that time, the company-owned factory and retail store would be put on the real estate market. However, if a buyer for the business were to step forward before then 鈥� as late as May 31, Taylor says 鈥� the shutdown could be avoided.

One option Taylor has reluctantly explored is licensing the brand name and recipe to a manufacturer to make Aplets & Cotlets, and the company鈥檚 other similar products, somewhere other than Cashmere.

鈥淲e’ve focused on finding a buyer who would stay in Cashmere,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淲e love Cashmere and we think it’s a great place to do business, but, you know, it’s not for everybody, corporately [speaking].鈥�

Mayor Jim Fletcher of Cashmere told 成人X站 Radio on Wednesday morning that the news came as a surprise.

鈥淭here’s always a degree of sadness hearing that a longtime business — any business 鈥� closes, but this one is particularly cherished because it’s part of the town’s identity,鈥� Mayor Fletcher said. 鈥淚 mean, when you mention Cashmere, that’s one of the first things people, at least my generation, people go, 鈥榊eah, Liberty Orchards. We used to stop there as kids when we were traveling through to Wenatchee.鈥欌��

The closure of Liberty Orchards will likely come up during next week鈥檚 Cashmere City Council meeting, Mayor Fletcher said. He鈥檚 confident that, should the factory ultimately close, the city鈥檚 Economic Development Council, as well as the local Port Authority, will likely work to help identify potential new uses and possible tenants for the Liberty Orchard space.

Loss of those jobs and that iconic employer, Fletcher says, is 鈥渟omething that we’re just going to deal with.鈥�

As for the two streets in Cashmere named for Liberty Orchard鈥檚 most famous products 鈥� Aplets Way and Cotlets Way 鈥� the mayor says those names are likely here to stay, at least for the near term.

If those street names were ever to be reconsidered, Mayor Fletcher says, 鈥渨e would probably wait until such time that there was public participation in whether or not they should be changed, and that may be years from now.鈥�

With Liberty Orchards so close to shutting down for good, Greg Taylor is looking forward to retirement. But he also clearly has mixed emotions about the operations coming to an end.

鈥淭here’s a fair amount of melancholy,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淥n the one hand, I’m disappointed that the business won’t be continuing. [But] the feeling of our whole family is that we’re just very proud of 100, or 101, or 102-year history of our company. We’ve employed thousands of people and we made millions of people happy. We’re proud to be part of the founding family of this company, and the example my grandfather and uncle set for how to do business.鈥�

鈥淭hat’s our main thought,鈥� Taylor said, 鈥渁nd our other thought is how much appreciation we feel to our employees and to our community and to our customers.鈥�

Social media reactions Wednesday morning about the factory closure seem to indicate that some Northwesterners love Aplets & Cotlets, while others scratch their heads and don鈥檛 quite understand the somewhat perfume-y tasting candy鈥檚 appeal.

But, for those who do love the candies 鈥� or who are maybe thinking ahead to the holiday season and family members who love the candies 鈥� and who want to stock up now while supplies remain and while the factory is in operation during the next few months, Taylor says that Aplets & Cotlets do have a decent shelf-life.

鈥淚f they left it at room temperature [still sealed in its original packaging], it would be good for a few months,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淔ive, six months depending upon the storage conditions. If they left it in a cool dark place, [it鈥檇 last] a little longer, eight, nine months. But if they put it in a Ziploc bag and put it in a freezer, it鈥檇 last almost indefinitely. I mean, we say you can freeze it for up to a year, and it would be practically good as new when it comes out of freezing.鈥�

Does Taylor expect a shelf-clearing run on the remaining Aplets & Cotlets inventory at the countless retailers in the Northwest and around the United States that carry the candy?

鈥淚 hoping for it,鈥� Taylor said, chuckling. 鈥淚t鈥檇 be nice to end on a winning note.鈥�

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.