O’Brien’s
Candies – Ice Cream
Acclaimed as “the prettiest and most attractive candy store on the Pacific Coast. O’Brien’s Candy Store was more than a business to San Joseans, it was an institution – the natural spot to stroll to after a show or the ideal place to meet a friend on a lazy afternoon.
The first place to serve ice cream sodas west of Detroit in 1878, O’Brien’s Candy Store was founded in 1868 by Maurice O’Brien, an Irish immigrant. With $500 in his pocket, he began his San Jose candy business by selling baskets of candy in the doorway of the Pacific Hotel. Soon outgrowing his doorway location as his business rapidly prospered, O’Brien’s, his buckskin horse and delivery cart, moved to a corner stand at First and San Fernando, and in 1874 to 30 South First Street, the home of O’Brien’s Candy Store for the next fifty-three years. In 1928 O’Brien’s made its final move to 223 South First Street where it remained until the family business closed in January 1956.
O’Brien’s symbolized “nothing but the best” to all those interested in the newest and fanciest fountain drinks and concerned with the “special attention given to the making and serving of novel ices and ice creams.”
Donated to the people of San Jose June 22, 1977 as the culmination of a two year Rotary Club project to observe the 200th Anniversary of our nation (July 4, 1776) and the 200th Anniversary of the founding of the City of San Jose, (November 29, 1777).
Marker can be reached from Senter Road, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
