See S Candies

Billionaire financier Warren Buffett already has his hands in newspapers, jewelry, insurance and other holdings. Now, with the acquisition of Oriental Trading Co., the 82-year-old can add party planning. Buffett said Friday that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. firm will buy Omaha-based Oriental Trading, the largest direct retailer of more than 40,000 discount party goods, for an undisclosed sum. Berkshire Hathaway is also headquartered in Omaha. The mail-order merchant, which sells supplies, crafts, school supplies, toys and novelties, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010, burdened with a huge debt load, and suffering from low consumer spending and higher costs.

Two popular chains -- confectioner See's Candies and British retailer Topshop -- are arriving at the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles this month. Topshop, along with its menswear offshoot Topman, is opening its 30,000-square-foot Los Angeles flagship store at the outdoor mall Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. The chain's fourth American store will feature two floors of styles, including colorful jeans, neon vests and a collection exclusive to Los Angeles and handpicked by actress Kate Bosworth.

Someone, let the lollipop guild know. See's Candies now owns the Guinness World Records title for the largest lollipop. The company constructed the behemoth in its See's Candies Lollypop Factory (yes, See's spells it with a 'y') in Burlingame on July 18. The chocolate flavored confectionary collossus weighs in at 7,003 pounds and is 4 feet 8.75 inches in length, 3 feet 6 inches in width and 5 feet 11 inches in height. With the stick, the lollipop is nearly 12 feet long.  See's Candies is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which bought the company from the See family in 1972.

Warren Buffett: party boy? It's no secret that the octogenarian Oracle of Omaha knows how to get down. He plays pingpong at shareholder meetings for his investment firm Berkshire Hathaway Inc. He plays the ukulele on television. He has sung songs while dressed as a paperboy, a rapper and rocker Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses. Now, the multibillionaire financier can have even more good times, with his purchase Friday of discount party goods retailer Oriental Trading Co. The mail-order merchant sells a cornucopia of more than 40,000 party supplies, crafts, school supplies, toys and novelties directly to consumers.

Two popular chains -- confectioner See's Candies and British retailer Topshop -- are arriving at the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles this month. Topshop, along with its menswear offshoot Topman, is opening its 30,000-square-foot Los Angeles flagship store at the outdoor mall Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. The chain's fourth American store will feature two floors of styles, including colorful jeans, neon vests and a collection exclusive to Los Angeles and handpicked by actress Kate Bosworth.

Sweet. Los Angeles officials are taking steps to commemorate the city's confectionery culture, just in time for Valentine's Day. Members of the Cultural Heritage Commission agreed Thursday to consider designating the original home of See's Candies, near Western Avenue and Beverly Boulevard, as a historic landmark. Nomination papers calling for recognition of the first See's candy kitchen and retail shop were filed at City Hall in an empty 5-pound See's box by candy lover Charlene Nichols.

The candy making business isn't always a sweet one. Vigorous competition, high costs and fickle public preference have left the landscape littered with the melted remains of failed candy makers over the years. But See's Candies--they of the little-changing white-and-black stores and the cherubic smile of Mary See--is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the company's birth with special candy tins, free Victoria Toffee hammers and commemorative advertising.

Before Charles N. Huggins began working at See's Candies in 1951 as a manager in the company's packing department in San Francisco, his favorite candies were black licorice and, thanks to his World War II service as a paratrooper, Hershey's chocolate. But as Huggins' sweet tooth remained a constant during his rise up the ladder to become the candy company's president and chief executive in 1972, his taste clearly underwent a See's-influenced evolution. And like a kid in a candy store, he had no trouble reciting his favorites in a 1998 San Diego Union-Tribune interview: "Butter Creams, Pecan Buds, Candied Ginger, Chocolate Truffles, Chocolate Lollypops, Chocolate Nut Fudge, Victoria Toffee and Polar Bear Paws.

Burger King has big plans to wipe the smile off Ronald McDonald's face. Later this summer, Burger King will unleash a $200-million ad campaign--closely tied to a new marketing strategy--that insiders say will try to completely reposition the perennial fast-food also-ran as a feisty, friendly, family place that will go far out of its way to make customers happy. Much of the campaign is still in the works or under wraps. And until now, officials have refused to reveal any details of the upcoming ads. But in interviews, top executives from Burger King and its two recently named New York advertising agencies said Burger King is about to begin an ambitious drive to persuade consumers that the fast-food chain is going to change for the better.

Warren Buffett: party boy? It's no secret that the octogenarian Oracle of Omaha knows how to get down. He plays pingpong at shareholder meetings for his investment firm Berkshire Hathaway Inc. He plays the ukulele on television. He has sung songs while dressed as a paperboy, a rapper and rocker Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses. Now, the multibillionaire financier can have even more good times, with his purchase Friday of discount party goods retailer Oriental Trading Co. The mail-order merchant sells a cornucopia of more than 40,000 party supplies, crafts, school supplies, toys and novelties directly to consumers.

Billionaire financier Warren Buffett already has his hands in newspapers, jewelry, insurance and other holdings. Now, with the acquisition of Oriental Trading Co., the 82-year-old can add party planning. Buffett said Friday that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. firm will buy Omaha-based Oriental Trading, the largest direct retailer of more than 40,000 discount party goods, for an undisclosed sum. Berkshire Hathaway is also headquartered in Omaha. The mail-order merchant, which sells supplies, crafts, school supplies, toys and novelties, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010, burdened with a huge debt load, and suffering from low consumer spending and higher costs.

Before Charles N. Huggins began working at See's Candies in 1951 as a manager in the company's packing department in San Francisco, his favorite candies were black licorice and, thanks to his World War II service as a paratrooper, Hershey's chocolate. But as Huggins' sweet tooth remained a constant during his rise up the ladder to become the candy company's president and chief executive in 1972, his taste clearly underwent a See's-influenced evolution. And like a kid in a candy store, he had no trouble reciting his favorites in a 1998 San Diego Union-Tribune interview: "Butter Creams, Pecan Buds, Candied Ginger, Chocolate Truffles, Chocolate Lollypops, Chocolate Nut Fudge, Victoria Toffee and Polar Bear Paws.

Someone, let the lollipop guild know. See's Candies now owns the Guinness World Records title for the largest lollipop. The company constructed the behemoth in its See's Candies Lollypop Factory (yes, See's spells it with a 'y') in Burlingame on July 18. The chocolate flavored confectionary collossus weighs in at 7,003 pounds and is 4 feet 8.75 inches in length, 3 feet 6 inches in width and 5 feet 11 inches in height. With the stick, the lollipop is nearly 12 feet long.  See's Candies is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which bought the company from the See family in 1972.

Sweet. Los Angeles officials are taking steps to commemorate the city's confectionery culture, just in time for Valentine's Day. Members of the Cultural Heritage Commission agreed Thursday to consider designating the original home of See's Candies, near Western Avenue and Beverly Boulevard, as a historic landmark. Nomination papers calling for recognition of the first See's candy kitchen and retail shop were filed at City Hall in an empty 5-pound See's box by candy lover Charlene Nichols.

Calling all chocoholics. Put down the truffles and power up the PC. It's time to weigh in on a fundamental question: What is chocolate? Two of California's oldest confectioners, See's Candies Inc. and Guittard Chocolate Co., are battling an attempt to loosen government rules that dictate what ingredients go into the sweet stuff. Legally, the candy that melts hearts and comforts the brokenhearted is made with cocoa butter and, in the case of milk chocolate, whole milk.

This is Mary See's town. We only live here. See's Candy has owned L.A., chocolate-wise, for more than 80 years. Charles See may have come here from Canada, but he understood this burg -- he opened his second store in Grauman's Chinese Theater and his third on the route of the Rose Parade. He made a point of putting his shops on the shady side of the street, knowing that in our climate more pedestrians would be walking there. He understood our eager susceptibility.

The Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation invites local connoisseurs of gourmet food, fine wines and premium beer to its 11th annual Lakeside Party fund-raiser Sunday at Lake Casitas. Directors of the foundation, which raises money to support programs at the Ventura County Medical Center and related facilities, said this year's event is more important than ever because the hospital recently incurred funding cuts totaling more than $1 million. The event, from noon to 5 p.m.

Summer is not exactly peak season for the purveyors of fine chocolates. The months creep by, bereft of a single candy-centric holiday. The heat brings up issues of melting and stickiness and images of bathing suits, none of them chocolate friendly. At the See's Candies factory on La Cienega Boulevard, there is only one chocolate enrobing machine running, sluicing dark chocolate over hundreds of Scotchmallows.

Summer is not exactly peak season for the purveyors of fine chocolates. The months creep by, bereft of a single candy-centric holiday. The heat brings up issues of melting and stickiness and images of bathing suits, none of them chocolate friendly. At the See's Candies factory on La Cienega Boulevard, there is only one chocolate enrobing machine running, sluicing dark chocolate over hundreds of Scotchmallows.

The Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation invites local connoisseurs of gourmet food, fine wines and premium beer to its 11th annual Lakeside Party fund-raiser Sunday at Lake Casitas. Directors of the foundation, which raises money to support programs at the Ventura County Medical Center and related facilities, said this year's event is more important than ever because the hospital recently incurred funding cuts totaling more than $1 million. The event, from noon to 5 p.m.