Doug Taylor, a Brookfield resident and senior employee at his family business Taylor’s Candy, was recently featured on ‘The Making Of,’ a new podcast by Jack Pitts, who grew up in the area.
“I love listening to podcasts. One of my favorites and why I was interested in [starting my own] is How I Built This, which is an NPR podcast. This guy named Guy Raz interviews entrepreneurs, and I really like how they’re telling their stories. You hear the overnight success, but you don’t actually know of the, ‘Hey, we almost failed,’ or, ‘I was 55 when I started this business,’” Pitts said. “I work in finance, private equity, so I deal with business owners all the time. I was like, ‘Hey, why not do a podcast where I get to tell their stories?’”
The 65-minute episode where Pitts dives deep into Taylor’s business history is available to listen to on YouTube and streaming platforms where podcasts are available.
“I’ve known [Taylor] pretty much my whole life, and what really stood out to me was the importance of hard work and adapting to market change,” Pitts said. “He talked about having good relationships and knowing your customers.”
Taylor said he has worked for the business since 1990, when he founded it alongside his father. Based out of Alsip, Taylor’s Candy produces its own popcorn and peanut brittle while packaging products from other candy brands.
“I’ve known Jack since he was a boy. He was my son’s friend growing up. It was interesting,” he said of the podcast. “He asked a lot of good questions. I haven’t watched [the episode] because I didn’t want to rethink any of my answers. ‘Oh, I should have mentioned this. I should have mentioned that.’”
Taylor said his favorite part of working for his family’s company, where his two brothers are also members of senior management, is the flexibility.
“I’ve worked for myself for so long. I like the family aspect of it and how we’re all so open to everybody. I don’t know the corporate structure, because I never really worked in that realm,” he said. “We’re more hands-on with everything. If I have to step up and do a job that I’ve already got someone else to do, but they’re not here, I’ll do it, and most of my people will do the same. You get the freedom to do more things when it’s a small business like this.”
One highlight of the podcast episode that both Pitts and Taylor mentioned is when Taylor got to show off his antique candy memorabilia collection that he keeps in his office.
“He’s petering around the idea of making a little candy museum inside his office,” Pitts said. “He truly loves candy and the memorabilia behind it.”
Taylor said his favorite item “by far” is a vintage Fannie May candy freezer that he found inside Brookfield’s Fisher Pharmacy after it had closed and before the building became Sebastian’s Ale & Whiskey House.
“I called up the for-rent number. I’m like, ‘Hey, sorry, I don’t want to rent the place, but I’m more than happy to buy that freezer off of you.’ It was still filled with Fannie May candy. He’s like, ‘I’ll sell you the freezer, but all the candy inside is mine,’” he said. Taylor said he only wanted the fake display candy, which he was allowed to keep, too.
He said the office also heavily features memorabilia related to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” including a vinyl record of the soundtrack from the 1971 movie.
“I didn’t read the book until my daughter was born,” he admitted.
