Peter Kern Shoebox

In the late 1800s, German immigrant Peter Kern was a prominent baker and confectioner, locally famous for his amazing emporium, which featured a candy shop, a toy store, a soda fountain, and an “ice-cream saloon.” One of the first buildings designed by influential architect Joseph Baumann, the 1876 building still stands at the southwest corner of Market Square where Tupelo Honey and the Oliver Hotel are today. The hotel’s “Peter Kern Speakeasy” features his portrait. The popular Kern, who lived around the corner on Walnut Street with his German-born wife, Henrietta, was elected mayor in 1890. Kern died in 1907, but his company later built a prominent bakery on Chapman Highway, now being rehabbed to combine residences with retail.     This 1913 illustrated letterhead proclaiming Kern’s to be the “The Great ‘Package Candy House’ of the South” was shared by Cindy and Mark Proteau.