Vern's Toffee Story

Since 1976 we've been hand-crafting our mouth-watering butter almond toffee with the finest, freshest ingredients and delivering it directly to customers at the best possible price.

Our Business History

Our original toffee recipe secret is all in the family.

Vern's Toffee House is a family owned and operated Colorado business established in 1976 by our toffee patriarch, Vern Hackbarth, with the help of his wife, Gert. Raised in the farm and dairy culture of the Midwest in the 1920's and 30's, Vern learned the values of good, fresh food and frugal economics.

Those old-school values helped him forge a successful career with Heinz foods and later as the founder of a popular Fort Collins restaurant. When he retired at age 59, he began to experiment with the idea of a milk chocolate butter toffee. Then as now, he insisted on using the finest ingredients, patient hand-blending and stirring, and no artificial preservatives.

When he arrived at the original toffee recipe that satisfied his demanding taste, Vern began selling it to friends and former restaurant customers. They, in turn, shared it with their friends and associates locally and countrywide. Vern's reputation for making extraordinary butter almond toffee spread then--as it does now--by word-of-mouth, and Vern's Toffee House was born. Vern bought a building to house his kitchen in 1976 and this location remains a part of our expanded home today. Very soon, the success of his recipe outstripped his ability to produce enough of the prized toffee to meet demand.

Mary and Ron: the next generation.

So Vern approached his daughter, Mary, and her husband, Ron Hert, about leaving their careers to move to Fort Collins to join the business. As former Peace Corps volunteers, they were accustomed to risk taking, but they were committed to their work. Ron was a college educator who hadf and led several nationally recognized programs. Mary was the executive assistant to a corporate CFO, but had always dreamed of having her own business.

When Vern called for help, they eventually couldn't resist the opportunity to combine their talents to build a great family business based on Mary's Dad's original toffee recipe. In 1984, they left their careers and moved their family to Fort Collins to buy 50% interest in Vern's Toffee House and become toffee manufacturers.

They worked side by side with Vern and Gert for seven years, practicing the simple small business values of hard work, thrift, pride in a family-produced product, and friendly, efficient customer service. When Vern and Gert retired in 1992, Mary and Ron proudly assumed responsibility for the growing business that still operates on the basic principles instilled by Vern so many years ago.

Stefanie and Patrick: the third generation.

In 2011 Ron and Mary welcomed their daughter, Stefanie, and her husband Patrick O'Neill, into the family business. They, too, had enjoyed challenging careers but they yearned to blend their traditional family values with their professional life. Those values and their unique skill sets were seamlessly intertwined with the principles that Vern espoused in 1976.

Ron and Mary nurtured this third generation of toffee artisans to carry on the legacy of producing the most delicious, handcrafted butter almond toffee available.

In 2012 Patrick and Stefanie assumed full ownership of Vern's Toffee House. With a commitment to continued excellence in our craft and in customer service they expanded our product offerings to include gourmet truffles and a variety of gift baskets and towers. Stefanie grew up in the shop and had yearned for years to have 2 classic recipes that she loved in her youth re-introduced to our customers--Toffee Tingles and Almond Clusters. When the availability of high-quality ingredients makes it possible, we are delighted to add these confections to our offerings.

Patrick and Stefanie are probably most gratified by their interactions with our customers, many of whom have been with us since our founding in 1976! One of Stefanie's greatest joys at work is having long-time customers share personal memories about Vern, Gert, Mary, and Ron, and their various activities throughout Fort Collins.

Katie: the fourth generation.

Katie was raised and homeschooled at Vern's Toffee House from the age of 9. She endured the same long hours that Patrick and Stefanie invested in the business and she enjoyed having a variety of responsibilities that included preparation for the kitchen and assisting customers. Katie was enthusiastically welcomed by our long-time customers, who unknowingly helped foster a desire in Katie to one day take over the family business.

When she graduated high school in 2020 Katie's plans to attend the Colorado State University College of Business were put on hold. After working in the banking industry, she returned to Vern's Toffee House to pursue her dream of carrying on the family business.

Since 2021 Katie has been working diligently alongside Patrick and Stefanie, learning the critical details of each of their roles within our business. Katie's most cherished duty is handcrafting our world-famous butter almond toffee alongside her dad. A great source of pride for Stefanie for many years is to declare that "If you've had Vern's Toffee it was either hand-stirred by my grandfather, my father or my husband", but now she can proudly state that "If you've had Vern's Toffee it was either hand-stirred by my grandfather, my father, my husband, or our daughter".

Mary may have shifted primarily to an advisory role, but our entire family guarantees that you will receive the same melt-in-your-mouth almond toffee and personal service that has made Vern's a legend since 1976. And there is a good chance when you call us in November and December that Mary will answer the phone and take your order!

Today, several decades later, our family's award-winning butter almond toffee is enjoyed by tens of thousands of customers throughout the U.S. and around the world, and it is featured in gourmet markets as well.