Candy Bar Reviews, Candy Reviews, Nostalgic Candy Favorites

Pittsburgh’s Very Own, Vintage Clark Bar and Zagnut Bar

November 11, 2009 by
Clark Bars are a true retro candy and hail from Pittsburgh which is home to CandyFavorites.com

Clark Bars are a true retro candy and hail from Pittsburgh which is home to CandyFavorites.com

Sharability: 3

Denture Danger: 6 (It’s sure to get stuck in your teeth)

Convenience: 5

Novelty: 10

Overall: 9

The Clark Bar is—as it says on the wrapper—“Chocoaltey Coated Peanut Butter Crunch.” I guess you could say this is Necco’s version of the Butterfinger. The filling is slightly different than the Butterfinger, however. The Clark bar has a little soft peanut butter snuck into the crunchy, flakey, filling which adds an extra bit of peanut buttery goodness.

In second grade I had a teacher named Mrs. Clark, naturally, her favorite candy was the Clark bar. I brought in a bag of Clark bars for the class and she took every wrapper and hung them around the bulletin board on the wall. Now Mrs. Clark was an advocate of the Clark bar, but she wasn’t the inventor.

Irish-born, David L. Clark, was a guy just trying to make a living like the rest of us. He went through working at a variety of jobs including at a fish market, an art glass factory, and a paint manufacturer. He founded the Clark Company in 1886 in two rooms of a small house in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, what is now the North Side of Pittsburgh.

The company continued to grow and was soon producing some of the nation’s favorite candies. Clark’s company experimented with ingredients such as coconut, mint, and peanut butter, which had never been used in candies before. Some of the most delicious and most popular of these innovative creations were the Clark bar and the Zagnut bar.

The Zagnut bar is basically the exact same thing as the Clark bar, but instead of the flakey peanut butter being coated in chocolate, it is coated in a sweet coconut shell. I know that there are a lot of people out there who don’t like coconut in their candies, but  before you make that claim, try the Zagnut bar. The coconut flavor is far from overwhelming, and incorporates an excellent additional flavor to the crunchy peanut butter.

The Clark Company changed hands quite a bit. It was sold to the Beatrice Food Company in 1955, Leaf Inc. in 1983, renamed to Clark Bar America in 1995, and bought again by New England Confectionary Company (NECCO) in 1999, which is where it thrives today.

I feel like the Clark Bar and the Zagnut bar have declined in popularity in comparison to their cousin, the Butterfinger. I know that I had never even heard of the Zagnut bar until now and I think that is a shame. Not only is this candy an ultimate classic, not only was this candy originally produced in Pittsburgh (my home town), but this candy, along with his brother the Clark bar is absolutely delicious. So next time you are craving a Butterfinger, think back to David Clark and the struggles he must have gone through to create the delicious candy bar that is undoubtedly the candy that influenced the creation of the Butterfinger.

Source:
http://www.necco.com/ourbrands/default.asp?brandid=9

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12 Comments

  • Reply Rick Patrick January 18, 2011 at 3:00 pm

    I used to drop 20 pgh. press each day at Clark candy on the north side. The had a bit carton of their full size bars at the exit. Help yourself!

  • Reply Bill B. August 12, 2016 at 12:12 am

    About 60 years ago me and 3 of my friends swam the allegany river by the clarkbar company,we heard they gave out free Clark bars,here we were 4 stinky kids soaking wet wanting a free Clark bars,we got them,lol ,what would you do for a Clark bar.

    • Reply Robin Massioni September 24, 2017 at 10:58 am

      That’s really a great story and memory. Your very lucky Bill.

  • Reply Regenia Vandecar September 8, 2017 at 3:39 pm

    I am a senior citizen 75 years old and I love the Clark and Zagnut candy bars, especially the
    Clark Bar. But I can’t find them here. Even if I could I could not afford them. But I remember them very well. Wish I had one now.

    • Reply Marlene March 19, 2018 at 10:19 pm

      Did you ever find your Clark candy bar? Would love to send you some!

  • Reply Richard Howell November 25, 2017 at 9:31 pm

    I am a clark bar fan. Hate zagnut snd butterfinger. They are faux clarks. Do not find clark bars in many places. Need promo people to look into this.

  • Reply Gerald Mann June 17, 2018 at 2:24 pm

    I was born and raised in McKees Rocks, Pa and married a girl from the North Side , I now live in Ormond Beach Florida , Three things I can’t get out of my mind is my wife Nancy , and Clark and Zagnut Bars , Thoes were the days of great candy ! Looking to buy some today !

  • Reply Beth Wroblewski September 7, 2018 at 4:29 pm

    It was told to me that our home in Hampton township was previously owned by the Clark family in 1920’s that made the famous Clark bar. I am going to research this further. It is great to know the candy lives on!! I always loved a Clark bar. ☺️

  • Reply Elizabeth Burkhart October 4, 2018 at 2:23 pm

    Since I heard on the news that the Clark bar and Zagnut are returning to Pittsburgh I have been obsessed with finding one! No Luck! Each Halloween the Clark bar ran close to a plain Hershey bar for the most received. Nothing was better than a fresh Clark bar………sigh…….

  • Reply Steven Kramer May 15, 2021 at 12:33 am

    I have found many types of nostalgic candy at truck stops and convenience stores. The Zagnut candy bar is often available. WHAT MEMORIES I HAVE OF MY ZAGNUT, RUNS, TO THE STORE WHEN I WAS A KID. GOOD LUCK FRIENDS AND ENJOY. TRUST JESUS!!

  • Reply Marvin Franklin March 30, 2022 at 5:41 pm

    Please let me know if there’s a place I can buy a Zagnut candy bar

  • Reply Jimi R. Downey March 25, 2023 at 10:35 pm

    Bravo to the makers and those of us eat Zagnut bars! I am a regular purchaser of boxes

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