The History of Ko-Ed Candies Traditional Handmade Chocolates
Ko-Ed Candies was started shortly after World War Two in 1947 as a partnership between Ed Kohler and Theodora Edington. The name came from the first two letters of each of their last names. Ko-Ed was born!
The two of them ran the business and made their home at its current location until they decided to retire and sell the business in 1969. Charlie and Phyllis Whitt bought and operated the business for 16 years until 1985 when their son Gary and his wife Sandy bought the business from them.
Gary and Sandy operated for almost 30 years, building on a tradition of high-quality, delicious chocolates. The Whitt’s wanted to add orange chocolate to their lineup shortly after acquiring Ko-Ed and did so by buying orange chocolate wafers from Roger Urban at Platter’s Chocolates. Platter’s is known for having Buffalo’s best orange chocolates and the Whitt’s found this to be true as well.
Ko-Ed and Platter’s developed a relationship over the years that culminated in 2014 when Gary and Sandy chose to retire. They decided that Roger’s children, Joe, Bruce, and Sherry of Platter’s Chocolates would be the best suitors to carry on Ko-Ed’s tradition of excellence.
In August of 2014, the ink was dry on the contracts and Platter’s was the proud owner of South Buffalo’s finest candy store. Some new items have been added to the lineup, but the candies are still made with the same recipes, in the same kitchen as when Ed and Theodora began Ko-Ed back in 1947. In 2022, Ko-Ed celebrated its 75th year of excellence in its original location at 285 Abbott Road, South Buffalo N.Y., and online at koedcandies.com.