The older a person’s ties to the Trenton area, the greater the chance that they know of Allfather’s Candy Company.
Allfather’s is the source of that all-time great Easter treat, the Allfather’s Original Coconut Cream Yolk Center Egg.
For those not fortunate enough to be familiar, picture a Cadbury Creme Egg that weighs one pound, with coconut cream in place of the mere sugary goo that Cadbury offers. And at the center, in one of the confectionery industry’s most closely guarded secret, that yellow faux yolk center.
Larissa Cooney knows a thing or two about Allfather’s eggs. Her father, Ed DiNatale, has been one of the owners of the company since 1989. Since 2021, it’s been Cooney who has held the reins. And she is ready to lead Allfather’s toward its 150-year anniversary and beyond.
Which is not to say that taking over the family business is something that Cooney had ever really planned on. But now in her second Easter as chief executive, she is becoming more and more comfortable in the role.
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Allfather’s is a seasonal business, focused on Easter. The Coconut Cream Yellow Yolk Egg is the flagship product, but Allfather’s makes a variety of candy items, including peanut butter eggs, vanilla cream eggs, chocolate bunnies, chocolate crosses and more.
Originating in Trenton sometime in the 19th century — believed to be the 1880’s — Allfather’s has a history old enough to be shrouded in mist. Not even the owners of the company have a total grasp on how, why or when the company began, or, for that matter, how it came up with its signature product, the Allfather’s Original Coconut Cream Yolk Center Eggs.
What is known is that was founded by William Allfather on North Warren Street in Trenton, and that the business stayed in the family until 1958, when his son Eugene Allfather, Jr., sold the candy business to a John Milutus.
Milutus operated it for 32 years before selling it to Ed DiNatale, Jim Bartolomei (Larissa’s uncle) and Virgil Brillantini (Jim’s father-in-law) in 1989. For many years, they also owned and operated Tracy’s 5 & 10 on Hamilton Avenue in Trenton.
Allfather’s eggs are a truly local phenomenon, distributed almost exclusively in Mercer and Bucks Counties. That is changing somewhat now that the company has an online presence and is able to ship orders nationwide and even overseas.
Larissa recalls being young and seeing her father or her uncle in stories about Allfather’s. “I felt a little starstruck seeing my dad in the paper. I would bring it to my teachers in school and say, ‘This is something my family’s a part of.’ When you’re young, you don’t really know how big it is,” she says.
After Ed retired from full-time work as a sheriff’s officer, he took over some of the work for Allfather’s that was once staffed out. His wife, Dina — Larissa’s mother — also handled a number of responsibilities.
Dina died in 2020 at the age of just 53, and the next year, Ed pitched his partners on the idea of buying them out. Larissa didn’t know it yet, but her father’s plan was to install her as the company’s new CEO.
Larissa, who has a master’s degree in social work and still works full time as a therapist, says her dad had never hinted at his plans before he shared them with her and her fiancé at the time, Andrew Cooney. Both attended Steinert High School, though they did not know one another then.
“My mom was such a large part of the business, and when she passed away, it was a lot to deal with. It was definitely a surprise when he told me and my now husband what he was thinking,” she says. “My business experience wasn’t great. I did a lot when I was growing up — I used to embarrass my dad, I was always selling lemonade or my terrible artwork on the front lawn, I was involved in DECA, took businesses classes and stuff, but nothing that really prepared me for this.”
But with Ed on hand to show her the ropes, she dived in during the 2021 Easter season. The candy is made at an unspecified area factory — many reporters over the years have tried and failed to find out where — using specialized machinery capable of producing the yellow yolk centers of the original eggs. Around October of each year, it is now Larissa’s job to get things started by contacting the factory, setting prices, projecting quantities and sales figures for the coming season and contact retailers about carrying the products for another year.
Larissa, 27, says 2022 was when she, with Andrew’s help, truly took over the role of leader of the company. And despite a busy schedule — they were set to be married in the fall, and Larissa was also in the midst of opening her own therapy practice, Sunflower Soul Healing LLC — they were able to pull it off. They were married in October.
This year, with Larissa settled in her new practice and Andrew, a union carpenter, transitioning to a project management role, they are getting a better and better handle on things. Andrew serves as the chief financial officer, and Ed is content with more of a support role, called upon when needed.
As Easter approaches (April 9 this year), Larissa and Andrew are stocking shelves in their various area retail locations (a map of locations is available on the website). Though much of the Allfather’s product line has been around for ages, they are looking to add new products here and there, like the new milk chocolate bunnies filled with caramel.
“People have been wanting caramel, people have wanted more dark chocolate, and we are looking at ways to incorporate that,” Larissa says. “We are trying to listen to what they want. People recommend things all the time and we can’t have everything, but we’ll be adding at least something every year even if its just for that year.”
She says they are planning to take a vacation right after Easter, a prospect that has been made easier by the transitions they have made in their full-time roles. “I know I’m going to need a break,” she says.
Larissa is active on the Allfather’s Facebook page and says social media or the website are the best ways to follow Allfather’s, make online purchases or get updates on where eggs can be found in stores.
An Allfather's Original Coconut Cream Yellow Yolk egg.,
