{"id":1223,"date":"2025-05-20T12:51:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T16:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/?post_type=locations&p=1223"},"modified":"2025-10-11T13:50:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T17:50:56","slug":"bartons-bonbonniere","status":"publish","type":"locations","link":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/locations\/bartons-bonbonniere\/","title":{"rendered":"Barton’s Bonbonniere"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In mid-20th-century Brooklyn, Barton\u2019s Bonbonniere brought more than just chocolate to the neighborhood, it was a theatrical experience wrapped in foil and ribbon. Founded by Viennese chocolatier Stephen Klein, Barton\u2019s transformed American candy into something elegant, whimsical, and unapologetically bold. At the heart of it all stood the flagship factory at 80 DeKalb Avenue: a sprawling, state-of-the-art facility that churned out thousands of chocolate boxes daily and anchored a nationwide network of over 3,000 stores shelfing Barton\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The interior and exterior of a Barton\u2019s Bonbonniere shop in Queens, showcasing the brand\u2019s signature vibrant color palette and whimsical design. Image is in the public domain. Photo: Michael Perlman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A skilled employee at Barton\u2019s Bonbonniere operates one of the machines that precisely molds chocolates into their signature geometric shapes. Image is in the public domain. Cortesy: Brooklyn Public Library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Barton\u2019s vibrant, collectible tin cans blended bold design with function, turning chocolate packaging into a collectible part of the brand\u2019s identity. Image is in the public domain. Photo: Michael Pearlman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Barton\u2019s chocolates were as much a feast for the eyes as for the palate. Molded into sleek geometric shapes and adorned with etched logos, each piece was crafted with precision. Some resembled miniature bottles filled with espresso, eggnog, or liqueur; others were packed in candy boxes timed to last the length of a movie. Barton\u2019s signature European-style chocolate was smooth, richly flavored, and far less sugary than mass-market bars. Klein believed opening a box of chocolates should feel like stepping into a Technicolor musical: surprising, glamorous, and joyful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The storefronts mirrored that spirit. Painted in vivid yellow-greens and magentas, they stood in dramatic contrast to the muted candy counters of the day. Barton\u2019s did not just sell sweets, it celebrated them. The DeKalb Avenue factory, with its bustling production lines and sweet aroma, became a Brooklyn landmark and a symbol of postwar optimism and flair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Bartons\u2019 disappeared from shelves in 2009, its legacy lives on. It captured a moment when chocolate was more than a treat, it was an event, a little piece of joy wrapped in cellophane, straight from the heart of Brooklyn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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80 Dekalb Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11201<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
By Chevy (Yocheved) Stein
Step into the sweet legacy of 80 DeKalb Avenue, where Barton\u2019s turned handcrafted chocolate into a national sensation. This was not just candy, it was a symbol of survival and celebration. Blending European tradition with American flair, Barton\u2019s was Broadway in a bonbon, staging America\u2019s most glamorous chocolate show right in Brooklyn.
Campus: Queens College
Professor: Archie Porter
Location: 80 Dekalb Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11201
References: Prinz, Deborah R. \u201cChocolate Migrates to North America with Sephardi Jews.\u201d In Tastes of Faith: Jewish Eating in the United States, edited by Steven J. Ross et al., 1\u201326. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2017. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2307\/j.ctv15wxndq.5.
Smith, Andrew F. \u201cCandy.\u201d In Savoring Gotham: A Food Lover\u2019s Companion to New York City, 94. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. https:\/\/ebookcentral.proquest.com\/lib\/qc-ebooks\/reader.action?docID=4083302&c=UERG&ppg=113.
Gay, James F. \u201cChocolate Production and Uses in 17th and 18th Century North America.\u201d In Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage, 281\u2013300. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2008. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/9780470411315.ch23.
Diamond, Etan. \u201cThe Kosher Lifestyle.\u201d Journal of Urban History 28, no. 4 (May 1, 2002): 488\u2013505. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0096144202028004006.
Laiskonis, Michael. \u201cChocolate Making in New York: A Colonial History.\u201d Culinary Historians of NY, February 14, 2021. www.culinaryhistoriansny.org\/program-summary\/chocolate-making-in-new-york-a-colonial-history\/.
Leslie. \u201cBrooklyn: How Sweet It Is!\u201d Brooklyn Public Library, February 18, 2010. https:\/\/www.bklynlibrary.org\/blog\/2010\/02\/18\/brooklyn-how-sweet-it.
Berliner, David C. \u201cBarton\u2019s Sweetens Downtown Plan.\u201d The New York Times, January 7, 1973. https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1973\/01\/07\/archives\/bartons-sweetens-downtown-plan.html.
\u201cStephan Klein, at 71; Helped Start Barton\u2019s, The Candy Company.\u201d The New York Times, December 18, 1978. https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1978\/12\/18\/archives\/stephan-klein-at-71-helped-start-bartons-the-candy-company.html.
Freedman, Morris. \u201cFrom the American Scene: Orthodox Sweets for Heterodox New York.\u201d Commentary, May 1952. https:\/\/www.commentary.org\/articles\/morris-freedman\/from-the-american-scene-orthodox-sweets-for-heterodox-new-york\/.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In mid-20th-century Brooklyn, Barton\u2019s Bonbonniere brought more than just chocolate to the neighborhood, it was a theatrical experience wrapped in foil and ribbon. Founded by Viennese chocolatier Stephen Klein, Barton\u2019s transformed American candy into something elegant, whimsical, and unapologetically bold. At the heart of it all stood the flagship factory at 80 DeKalb Avenue: a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1224,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","api_coordinates_pp":"40.6897411,-73.9799489","footnotes":""},"tags":[7],"location_types":[17],"class_list":["post-1223","locations","type-locations","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-brooklyn","location_types-location"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/locations\/1223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/locations"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/locations"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1223"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/locations\/1223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1490,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/locations\/1223\/revisions\/1490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1223"},{"taxonomy":"location_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/nyfoodatlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location_types?post=1223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}