Stuckey’s

Stuckey’s, a multimillion dollar chain known for selling pecan candy, was founded by Williamson Sylvester Stuckey, an entrepreneur and self-taught marketing expert who was a pioneer in the convenience store and fast food concept. Born in Dodge County, Georgia, on 26 March 1909, Stuckey dropped out of the University of Georgia in 1929 because of a lack of funds and went home to plow a mule (the very lowest form of farm employment in the South during the Great Depression). In the early 1930s, after his grandmother lent him thirty-five dollars, Stuckeys began buying and selling Georgia pecans. In 1936 Stuckey built a roadside stand on a two-lane highway near Eastman, Georgia. There he sold pecans and later added pralines made at home by his wife, Ethel Mullis Stuckey. The first Stuckey’s Pecan Shoppe opened in Eastman, Georgia, in 1937, selling pecan log rolls, pralines, divinity, and pecans. The store later added souvenirs and food and beverage service. Gasoline pumps were installed as other stores opened.