Green & Green Company: Dayton Invents Cheez-It

Side A: Green & Green Company invented the Cheez-It in the 1920s. John Green and his son Weston founded their company in 1897 to produce a hard cracker recipe created by Dr. William Wolf of Dayton. Originally based in Chicago, the Greens moved production to their hometown two years later, opening a small factory above downtown Dayton’s Victory Theater. In 1907, Green & Green built a new bakery on the corner of Cincinnati and Concord streets in the Edgemont neighborhood. As their “Wolf” or “Dayton” cracker grew in popularity, Green & Green added the flakier line of “Edgemont” Crackers, which included the Cheez-It. In 1921, Weston Green applied for a trademark patent on the name “Cheez-It,” and the popular snack was born. (Continued on other side) Side B: (Continued from other side) By 1929, Green & Green enjoyed nationwide distribution of their crackers, claiming to be Ohio’s largest biscuit bakery. That same year, the company merged with the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company. When, in 1946, Loose-Wiles became Sunshine Biscuits, Inc., the Green & Green name was no longer used. Cheez-It, however, remained one of Sunshine’s most important products. The Dayton factory where the Cheez-It name originated closed in 1972 and was later demolished. Cheez-It is owned by Kellanova (formerly the Kellogg Company) and continues as one of America’s best-selling snack foods.