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Black-owned bakery owner acquires historic candy factory

Stephanie Hart, the owner of Brown Sugar Bakery, is expanding her Chicago-based sweet empire into new territory. Brown Sugar Bakery is a product of Hart’s 20 years of software company experience and her grandmother’s delectable palate. She’s trying to set a new standard for black business owners, especially businesses run by black women. Hart’s bakery has become a focal point for the south business district of Chicago, with her also fighting against the lack of resources as opposed to the north side of the city. “I’m expanding to meet the opportunities that Brown Sugar has. Brown Sugar is bigger than me,” says Hart, “and I’m a servant of it now, for real, for real. I’m not driving, I’m guiding a vehicle that is autonomous in some sense.”

John Stefanos has watched over Cupid Candies for 84 years, and after a chance meeting with Stepahnie Hart decided to sign over the rights to the companies’ brand and products. According to The Chicago Sun Times, she applied for a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and was approved for the maximum state grant of $500,000 – the exact amount needed to seal the deal. Hart’s goal is to create a fusion of the two brands into a wider set of treats for customers. She’s also keeping the Cupid Candies’ 20-plus workers on the payroll.

Hart plans on moving cake manufacturing and shipping to the Cupid Candies’ production site and turning her south side location as a retail outlet. John Stefanos’ role as a mentor as well as a resource for Hart will be in her favor as she moves toward creating a generational business that will stand the test of time in Illinois.

Cupid’s inception dates back from 1936, when Stefanos’ late father Polyhronis, or “Paul,” founded it. It became a must visit for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day for the Southwest Side in its “white ethnic” days. When that market moved southwest, Cupid put stores in Oak Lawn and Orland Park to follow it. But it stayed at its home base on Western Avenue, formerly a racial dividing line, and cultivated new customers among blacks and Hispanics.

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