Everyone's favorite gift
Texas fruitcake queen Mary of Puddin Hill is back in business for the holidays
Fruitcake from Mary of Puddin Hill, the holiday re-gift of choice.Photo courtesy of Mary of Puddin Hill
Mary of Puddin Hill is back in business in Greenville, Texas.Photo courtesy of Mary of Puddin Hill
Mary of Puddin Hill has won awards for its praline pecan pie.
The fruitcake world suffered a setback in May 2011 when Mary of Puddin Hill, one of the biggest manufacturers of the seasonal re-gifting favorite, closed its retail outlet in Greenville, Texas, after 56 years.
Tears were shed. Old fruitcakes were pulled out of their decorative tins, only to be put back with a nostalgic shrug.
The ensuing months were touch-and-go for Puddin Hill. They re-opened the retail store in November 2011 for the holidays, then closed it again on Valentine's Day 2012. Now, despite the ups and downs, it's open again, selling fruitcakes, fudge and praline pecan pie.
The store carries some treats not found in the catalog, including fudge and chocolate barks.
"We've been open about three weeks, and for now we're good," says company president Kenneth Bain, who describes the past year as busy and tumultuous.
"It began last year when we had some people who proposed a purchase of the company," he says. "But then they couldn't come up with the money."
There was also the threat from archrival Collin Street Bakery, the other fruitcake big gun in Texas, who planned to open a superstore in Greenville, not far from Puddin Hill. (Those plans are still underway; a Collin Street Bakery spokesperson said that the Greenville store is scheduled to open in time for Christmas.)
Having putting everything on hold in anticipation of the sale, Puddin Hill got behind on its 2011 catalog and down on sales overall. They had to scramble to make a go of the 2011 holiday. But closing the retail store gave them a chance to regroup and get back on track this year.
Besides, having a retail store has become less important, says Bain.
"The location is less important because we're focusing more on the catalog and website," he says. "Our catalog sales have always been our biggest volume; the retail store was significant, but it wasn't as much. But our Internet sales are up 11 percent so far this year."
The retail store is about a 45-minute drive from Dallas.
"We have people drive over from Dallas and Fort Worth, especially over the holiday weekend," Bain says. "We carry some items in the store that we don't have in the catalog – our fudge, chocolate barks that we might make in the candy kitchen in small batches, and cookies or other things we're testing."
Some make a trip out of it, visiting the store and then the Audie Murphy/Cotton Museum, which recently added the Hall of Heroes, a 3,000-square-foot military wing that covers the Civil War, WWI and WWII. If you go on a weekday, you can stop for a homestyle lunch at nearby Glenda's Cafe.
Meanwhile, Mary of Puddin Hill won another first place award from the 2012 Fiery Food Show for its Texas Hot Lava Pie.
"It's our signature pecan praline pie, but we added habañero and covered it with chocolate," Bain says.
