All Murdick Stores are Independently Owned

If you have ever wondered why you will go into different Murdick stores and they have different flavors of fudge or don’t have the flavor you had seen in one other Murdick store, it is because all Murdick stores are independently owned.  They are not franchised like Kilwins stores.

You may experience different quality or notice different prices from one store to another. That is because each store owner decides for themselves what ingredients they use in the fudge, what flavors they offer and what price they offer to the public.

Some of our customers ask why we don’t have a certain flavor or why our fudge is creamy and smooth and others are not.  Well, some stores that were originally owned by Murdick family members have been sold.  Thus, they tweak the recipe to suit their needs or desires.  So our advice to any fudge consumer, is to try the fudge BEFORE you buy it.  If you like the texture and flavor, then you will know!

The Mackinac Island stores were bought by Bob Benser, Sr. in 1969 from the Murdick family. He opened other stores (St. Ignace, Mackinac Crossings in Mackinaw City, and Martha’s Vineyard)– using the name Original Murdicks Fudge.  Our store is called Murdicks Famous Fudge as it dates back to the 50’s when my great grandfather used the name.  My great-great grandfather actually opened the very first fudge store in Michigan on Mackinac Island in 1887.  Now that store is owned by a local islander.  Doug Murdick’s Fudge in Traverse City is owned by the Doug Murdick family.  And the store in Charlevoix is owned by the Celeste Murdick family.

The Murdicks Fudge store in Petoskey is owned by a Petoskey family and was opened in the 60’s by my dad and his father.  It has been sold a few times.  As far as we know, these are the only Murdick stores in existence.

Our ancestors did not protect the trademark on the Murdick name, thus, it has been fairly easy for others to continue using our name in business.  Again, our advice is to taste the fudge first, then decide whether you will buy it or not.

If you decide you like one kind of fudge as opposed to the others, then you must be careful when going to a website that is using the Murdick name.  There are many.  

I hope that this will clarify to our customers, why there is so much confusion as to who owns which stores, etc.  

With the summer season winding down, we would like to thank all of our wonderful and faithful customers for patronizing our business!