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Downtown SF “See’s Candies” Closes Permanently on Xmas Eve

And then there were three. San Francisco says goodbye to one of the city’s few remaining See’s Candies
By - posted 12/22/2023 No Comment

Thanks to SF Gate for sharing the news that San Francisco’s See’s Candies located at 3 Embarcadero Center is shutting down.

Christmas Eve, December 24, 2023, will be the final day open for the Bay Area-headquartered candy company at their downtown San Francisco location. The candy shop quietly announced its closure by posting a note on its door regarding its last day of business.

Thankfully, See’s Candies still has three locations left in San Francisco including 542 Market St, 754 Clement St. and in the Stonestown Galleria Mall.

See’s Candies opened in 1921 in Los Angeles and opened in San Francisco in 1936. Within four years, there were 18 “Mary See’s Dainty White Shops” all over the Bay Area. Thanks to the San Francisco World’s Fair, See’s Candies was put on the map. Visitors to the 1939 World’s Fair were enthralled by an exhibit showcasing a See’s Candies shop and miniature candy kitchen where people could watch candy makers hand-dip Scotch Kisses and Bon Bons. Thousands of visitors from across the country got their first taste of See’s, and candy sales were phenomenal—helping the brand take off as a household name.

In 1940, See’s opened an amazing 15,000-square-foot state-of-the-art candy kitchen on the corner of Market and Valencia in San Francisco. Radio spots and newspaper ads invited the public to tour the building, taste the candy and enjoy up-to-the-minute amenities like air conditioning! Eight thousand people attended the grand opening and established itself as San Francisco’s beloved candy company. See’s has grown from one shop to over 240 shops across America, plus 9 locations internationally in Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and Macao.