The History Behind the Matlow’s Mints at Briarpatch Restaurant

The Briarpatch is probably my favorite restaurant in Owensboro.  Kevin and I go a lot.  One of my favorite parts of a Briarpatch meal is what they bring you after it's over.  The mints!!  Well, I decided to check out the story behind and history of the Matlow mint and here's what I discovered.

The Matlow brothers of England, Maurice and Alfred, began making candy in the early 1920's.  By 1928, they opened a small candy factory in London.  Today, after a merger with another candy maker, Swizzles, their candy remains quite popular around the world.

One of those candies, Matlow's Hard Mint Candy (or Matlow's Crystal Hard Mint Candy) is wildly popular and familiar here in Owensboro thanks to the folks at Briarpatch.

Not only does the restaurant serve the candy to each customer following his/her meal, but you can also buy bags of it when you check out at the register.  I'll admit it.  I purchased a bag just before my European vacation so I would feel minty and fresh on vacation.

According to my friends at Briarpatch, the restaurant has carried them for 35 to 40 years. Though Briarpatch owner Pat Buntin was not directly involved in the selection of the mint, he's quite familiar with why they were chosen.  He says, "One of the pluses that led to the mint's selection was the unique flavor and the fact that it is unique to this area."   And Briarpatch customers absolutely LOVE them.  The restaurant goes through about 3,000 lbs of the mints per year.