Why the U.P. Has Its Own Candy Bar and the Mitten Doesn’t
It's true. The Upper Peninsula has its own unique candy bar, the Yooper Bar.
What does the lower peninsula have? We settle for Hershey’s, usually. Or Snickers. Or anything else...but they’re NOT made in Michigan.
As far as fudge, we share that with the U.P., although its fame comes from Mackinac Island.
So where did this Yooper Bar come from?
The original candy bar was - and still is – made by Sayklly’s in Escanaba.....and the U.P. is the only place where you can buy a Yooper Bar. Not even online. Or Ebay. Or Amazon. Or Dollar General. Nope, you gotta go to the U.P. or send Sayklly’s a message to send you some.
However, if you don’t want to drive all the way to Escanaba, there are other places in the U.P. to get a Yooper Bar, like St. Ignace, Manistique...and many others places throughout the U.P.. You just can’t get them anywhere below the bridge.
Every Yooper Bar has the outline of the Upper Peninsula on every one..... including the jagged coastlines and borders of every county in the U.P. There are three versions: Cocoa dark chocolate, Dark chocolate, and Milk chocolate, all made by Sayklly’s....not some outside candy maker.
Sayklly’s was founded in 1906 by Joseph Sayklly on Ludington Street. At the time, he also sold groceries, ice cream, along with candy. in 1960, the shop stopped selling groceries and the focus was on the chocolate.
So why do the Yoopers have Yooper Bars and the lower half doesn’t? The upper half deserves them, with the harsh conditions they endure every winter. Once you experience a Yooper Bar, you’ll see why it’s protected by the border and not allowed below the bridge. It might encourage you to move there.