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Journalism article for Final Paper on the Berley brothers


ariulloa 1 / -  
Nov 25, 2013   #1
Eric Berley walks through the candy exhibit-his own exhibit- twirling his handlebar mustache as if seeing each copper kettle for the first time. The exhibit, hidden in the Port of Penn's Landing, is packed floor-to-ceiling full of candy cane hooks, candy drop rollers, and even a candy bar: not the edible kind-but the metal bar that stops warm candy from spilling over the edge of a table-the kind that the edible candy bar was named after.

Eric and Ryan Berley, better known as "the Berley Brothers," own hundreds of cast iron pots, clear-toy candy molds, and other antique gadgets. However, unlike most collectors-they actually use them. Since the genesis of their stores Franklin Fountain Ice Creamery and Shane's Confectionary, there is even more of a reason to refer to that part of Philadelphia as "Historic Old City."

Located on Market and 2nd Streets, Franklin Fountain and Shane's aren't just everyday shops. They are an expression of the brothers' ethos-an ethos that instills the protection of forgotten flavors, inspires weekly two-hour drives for maple syrup, requires acquiring the skills of honey harvesting, and fosters relationships with food gurus like hippie activist Judy Wicks and elegant homemaker Martha Stewart. And now their ethos is calling them to transcend into yet another realm-that of museums.

When Eric puts the candy bar down, he points to a faded-yellow map of the sugar trade. The Atlantic Ocean, where the sugar trade was centered, will be the last stop on the exhibit. Eric introduces John McGarrigle, a native Pennsylvanian with salt-and-pepper hair and a slight hunchback. John traces the route his great-great-grandfather followed in the 18th century. He immigrated to America to escape the oppression in Lithuania-only to spend years slaving away at a sugar plantation. For John's ancestor, indentured servanthood was the price of freedom.

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Eric Berley's desire to preserve the hard work and valor that was required to make sugar an American commodity fuels his ardent passion for antiquity.

One glance at the Berley's stores will transport you to the early 1900's, when girls wore floor-length dresses and old-crank phones were new. In fact, Shane's is probably the only place where you can get hand-cranked phone calls and hand-made buttercreams in the same location. These buttercreams have been produced with the same recipe since Shane's establishment in 1911. Even the buttercream box is modeled after a decaying original found during an "architectural excavation." The box is sealed with a replicate of a century-old chocolate stamp discovered on the fourth floor of the Confectionery.

Although these small touches of antiquity serve to make the shops quainter, they also serve a more sentimental purpose. Eric recalls a man who received a box of Shane's buttercreams while stationed in Italy. During war, chocolate is as prized as gold. Over fifty years later, the WWII veteran obtained a reminder of his courageousness through the mail. With the expansion of Shane's into the online realm, his granddaughter was able to transport him back in time with the click of a button. The buttercreams not only he received not only retained their original flavor, but the packaging and the seal were identical to the originals as well. Though myriads of things have changed since the war, he knows he can count on Shane's candies to stay the same.

But the brothers' fetish with the old-fashioned doesn't stop in their recipes. It transcends everything, including their personal lives, business values, and even their fashion sense. Even their employees think "they look like ghosts straight from the 1940's." Eric and Ryan both have well-trimmed handlebar mustaches and wear suspenders, bowties, and twill jackets on a daily basis. They literally embody old-fashioned values.

Old-fashioned values are one of the many branches of a tree that the Berley brothers attribute their success to-a hand-drawn tree on a poster that's taped to the wall of their office. The tree embodies the values of world-renowned companies like Ben and Jerry's and of socially responsible business owners like Judy Wick of White Dog Café. The values include resourcefulness, authenticity, honesty, education, and a value only ice cream and candy store owners can truly understand: a dedication to bring back forgotten flavors.

Discovering forgotten flavors in unexpected places is Eric's hobby. He finds it "fun" to scavenge through his brother's backyard or through the scant trees of old city for inspiration. When recalling his flavorful stories he exclaims "It is eye-opening to see what we can do to make us connect with nature!" All of the ice creams are as close to natural as you can get without literally going into the field and milking a cow yourself (although Eric has tried that). But while his ice creams are made from grass-fed Lancaster County cows and the phrase "artificial vanilla flavoring" will receive a horrified gasp from any Berley brother or subsequent employee, it's Eric's unique methods of obtaining seasonal goods that really portray his dedication to nature.

Eric drives two hours every week to obtain Maple Syrup from a rural Pennsylvania Maple farm.
This is just for the "hint of maple" in the waffle cones. As for Shane's apple cider caramels, Eric taste-tested local apples from fifty different vendors before settling on an orchard in Bucks County. The cider is made in-store.

But perhaps his craziest flavor venture occurred during a mid-afternoon stroll around old city, when he spotted a single apricot tree. Eric firmly believes in taking advantage of the "small ecosystems hidden within the concrete city." He had found his new seasonal ice cream flavor: honey apricot. Once the apricot tree runs out of apricots for the season, he'll erase the flavor option from Franklin Fountain's antique chalkboard menu. It doesn't get more seasonal than that. And the honey? Eric Berley did not go to a local farmer's market to obtain raw honey. No. He didn't even visit a local beekeeper to pick his own honey. For Eric, that would never suffice.

Instead, he bought his own bees and learned how to harvest his own honey.
So what is next on this man's flavor ventures? Black walnuts. Ryan is a fervent black walnut lover and even has a black walnut tree in his backyard. Eric is itching to incorporate his brother's love into an ice cream flavor. He's just waiting for that second complementary ingredient to arise-one that he can plant, harvest, or perhaps even cross-cultivate himself.

The Berley Brothers don't just want to cultivate flavors, they want to cultivate education. Education is one of the core values their businesses were established upon, And now, with their monthly revenue continuously increasing, their recent expansion of Shane's into the online realm, and a new contract with their "good friend" Martha Stewart, they are finally at the correct point in their career to invest on education.

Not that they haven't been acting philanthropically prior to this decision.
Every Thanksgiving since the genesis of Franklin Fountain, the brothers have gathered up to forty of their employees to deliver turkeys to a ministry down in Chester County. Although they feel like inviting their employees is a natural thing to do, their employees know they are lucky. All employees are treated as part of the Berley family. As an ice cream server at Franklin fountain stated, "the Berley brothers are the best bosses I've ever had. They make me feel like I'm vital to the business."

But now, in addition to their Thanksgiving canned food drive, Ryan's prior involvement with the business collective organization, and Eric's prior involvement with the civic association, Eric and Ryan want to delve more deeply into the non-profit world. They want to start a museum.

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It's time for the Berley brother's ever-expanding collection of old fashioned cash registers, ice cream parlor photograph collections, and other dessert-related antiques to obtain a real home. The "Oh Sugar" exhibition at the Independence Seaport Museum was a way for the brothers to "get their feet wet" in the museum world. With over one hundred artifacts from the Berley's personal collection, the exhibition has been wildly successful since its commencement on August 16th. It is set to run until February 17th, and there are various special events scattered throughout. Their most recent event was called "Did You Ever See a Candy Pull?" As part of their desire to keep old traditions alive, the brothers organized this taffy-pulling event as "a play on words to literally 'pull' stories out of people." The event was located in the museum's theatre. It was just large enough to give the brothers room to set up a taffy station while still preserving a cozy, family-like atmosphere.

At the taffy-pull, Ryan slowly stirred the unsulfured molasses into a cast-iron pot that was twice his age. Meanwhile, Eric recalled taffy-pulling memories of his childhood, hoping to probe his audience to share as well. At first, people were hesitant. Even I felt intimidated by the presence of these dessert superstars; how could my measly candy experiences ever compare? But after a few rounds of traditional taffy-pulling games and free boxes of buttercreams for the winners, everyone started to warm up to each other. Before long, the audience was taking turns sharing candy recipes, traditions, and embarrassing family stories.

This is what the Berley brothers aspire to: a preservation of old family traditions through sweets. They hope their other upcoming events, like the Christmas Candy Making, the Lighted Boat Parade, or the Candy Cocktail Party; will be as successful as the Taffy Pull. They'll take that as an omen to keep moving forward with their museum plans. Within three years, Eric envisions a museum that will not only educate the public, but that will also be an open house to other exhibits from all around the world.

The Independence Seaport Museum's willingness to host their exhibit sparked this idea. The Berley museum is envisioned to host exhibitions ranging from marble soda fountains to Tiffany ice cream spoon collections to ice cream ads from the 1790's. But how does Eric know about the existence of such specific collections?

For the past 8 years, Eric has been the head organizer of the annual Ice Screamers convention in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. People from all walks of life come together in June every year under one purpose, "to share with others our passion for the history of ice cream." The convention is attended by ice cream cookbook authors, English ice cream historians, and even representatives from the Oxford Food Symposium: the oldest food conference in the world. However, Eric laments that the crowd attending is an aging population. His museum is an attempt to pass down the passion felt by this group onto later generations. The thought of the Ice Creamers melting into extinction is too much for Eric to bear. In order to attract a younger crowd and simultaneously support local talent, Eric plans on opening up the museum and the stores to local musicians.

Eric and Ryan Berley have a vision: to make the corner of Front and Market a destination, not a stop. Customers would start off the afternoon by heading to Shane's. The adults would order the dark chocolate lemon buttercreams while the children would order the clear candies, which are so popular that Martha Stewart is now selling them on her website. Then they'd head on to the museum and adults would read about the bittersweet history of the Sugar Trade while kids would play dress-up with the candy-maker costumes. As sunset approaches, the customers would head on with their families to Franklin Fountain for hot fudge sundaes and a guitar show by an up and coming musician. This Saturday afternoon would be etched into the customers' memories, to be recalled fifty years from now as the "good old times."
ivylaw 3 / 6 1  
Nov 29, 2013   #2
You are very good at writing! It was easy to read and follow. I learned a lot about the Berley Brothers.

Eric and Ryan Berley have a vision: to make the... - had a vision??

Very good job on the grammar and spelling, that was the only mistake that I found.

If you have time, could you give your opinion on my university application essays? :D

Good luck on your journal article!!


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