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ORAL HISTORY
Ron Kottemann
Roman Chewing Candy Co.
Ron Kottemann acknowledges that New Orleanians are captivated by the very sight of the nearly century-old, wooden, mule-drawn cart that his grandfather designed and that Ron now directs down Uptown’s backstreets and through New Orleans traffic. “People look at this thing and, you know, get all gaga,” he said. And if the vision doesn’t tug at their heartstrings, Ron’s taffy-like Roman Chewing Candy hooks them at the sweet tooth. Rolled in wax paper and sold in roughly foot-long sticks, the candy comes in three flavors—vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry—all developed by Ron’s grandfather, Sam Cortese. Sam toyed with more flavors but limited the variety so that customers couldn’t be too wishy-washy in their selections. A street vendor needs to keep moving.
