Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. Put on Block by Quaker

Quaker Oats is looking for a buyer for Ghirardelli Chocolate Co., the venerable 137-year-old chocolate maker whose name is familiar to thousands of tourists who visit its former factory at San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square.

Quaker Oats said it is selling Ghirardelli Chocolate because it doesn’t fit with its other products, which include cereals, dog food and toys. “Ghirardelli is a profitable but relatively small business for Quaker,” said Douglas W. Mills, executive vice president for Diversified Grocery Products, the Quaker unit that operated Ghirardelli.

Quaker Oats, based in Chicago, acquired Ghirardelli in 1986 when it bought Golden Grain Macaroni Co., the maker of Rice-A-Roni, for $250 million. Ghirardelli had sales of $35 million last year.

Though Ghirardelli has produced its premium chocolate in nearby San Leandro for more than 20 years, its name remains part of San Francisco lore. The original factory was sold in 1962 to members of San Francisco’s wealthy Roth family, who transformed it into a trendy shopping area and renamed it Ghirardelli Square.

The company was founded in 1852 by Domingo Ghirardelli as a maker of powdered chocolate. Besides processing chocolate, Ghirardelli also operates a chocolate shop and an ice cream shop at Ghirardelli Square.

Quaker Oats said several companies, including chocolate manufacturers, had expressed an interest in acquiring Ghirardelli. Ronald G. Bottrell, a Quaker Oats spokesman, wouldn’t name the prospective buyers.