Ferrara Pan Company Leader Dies

The iconic red lights of the Ferrara Pan candy factory may glow a little dimmer this week after news that candy impresario Nello Ferrara has died. He was 93. 

Forest Park Review has the story and visitation information.

Nello Ferrara began operations at the company in 1947 looking to accelerate the work his father, Ferrera Pan founder Salvatore, began in Chicago in 1908. A few years after joining the company, the company began rolling out new candies, including the Atomic Fireball.

According to the company website, when the confection first debuted, "the capacity at Ferrara Pan was limited to 200 cases per day...Within three weeks of sending samples to Ferrara Pan brokers, orders were rolling in at a rate of over 50,000 cases per day, far beyond the capacity Ferrara Pan could handle at that time."