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67-year-old Wyoming Sem grad bikes from Maine for reunion

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Happy birthday to Evelyn Jane Goodwin!

<p>KINGSTON &#8212; Those who enjoy sweet savory peanut butter filling in their pretzels can thank Bruce Gutterman.</p><p>Both an entrepreneur and inventor, Gutterman is also known for developing peanut butter for ice cream.</p><p>His business Flavors R Speciality operates out of a small office in Kingston that belies the scope of his vision and the geography of his organization.</p><p>His innovative spirit has brought peanut butter ice cream to aficionados across the country.</p><p>It&#8217;s been used to make Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s &#8220;Chubby Hubby,&#8221; a flavor Gutterman said has become a standard across the country.</p><p>For those who prefer a bit more crunch, Gutterman developed peanut butter used to fill pretzels for a multitude of manufacturers.</p><p>Gutterman literally found &#8220;the keys to the peanut butter kingdom&#8221; in March 1983.</p><p>Coming home late one night, something shiny caught his eye and he realized a neighbor had left keys in the trunk of his car.</p><p>Simply wanting to be helpful, Gutterman knocked on the neighbor&#8217;s door and returned the keys to a gentleman, Max Reisman, who was visiting the neighbor&#8217;s daughter.</p><p>Gutterman couldn&#8217;t have anticipated what happened next.</p><p>&#8220;I got a call from Mr. Reisman, who happened to be the president of Reisman Pretzel Co.,&#8221; he said.</p><p>In what Gutterman calls &#8220;a perfect storm,&#8221; Reisman was looking for something to fill pretzels.</p><p>&#8220;He had invented a machine to fill them,&#8221; said Gutterman, &#8220;but he didn&#8217;t know what to put in them.&#8221;</p><p>Gutterman thought peanut butter would be the perfect idea.</p><p>Driving back from Pennsauken, N.J., where Reisman&#8217;s company was located, he had a vision of the future of the industry.</p><p>&#8220;I remember coming up with the name &#8216;Nutter Nuggets&#8217; as I was driving through the Lehigh Tunnel,&#8221; he said.</p><p>A name and an idea that would change history.</p><p>Gutterman launched his product on the West Coast and Anderson Bakeries started producing &#8220;Nutter Nuggets.&#8221;</p><p>Although Gutterman eventually sold the name to Nabisco for a nominal amount, he still keeps a bag of his very first efforts in his office.</p><p>More than simply a sweet treat, the pretzels carefully filled with just the right amount of peanut butter reflect hard work and creativity that has defined both Gutterman&#8217;s work and his life.</p><p>As Gutterman looks back at the history of his work and his product, he emphasizes much of his efforts took place at a time when the Internet was not yet popular and email did not yet exist.</p><p>He remembers taking a call from Baskin Robbins in 1976 on a rotary phone.</p><p>Today, Gutterman&#8217;s office is filled with innovations which include a fax machine, a computer and a cell phone and yet he still enjoys face-to-face communication and receiving letter by U.S. mail.</p><p>Gutterman will offer expert testimony later this year in a lawsuit filed by Maxim Marketing Corp. against ConAgra Food Inc. and Trader Joe&#8217;s Co., all based in California, for breach of contract. Maxim alleges ConAgra violated agreements by cutting it out of the supply chain to sell peanut butter-filled pretzels to Trader Joe&#8217;s, a grocery store chain.</p><p>Although Gutterman is not a direct party in the suit, he said his testimony underscores his continuing influence and support in the industry.</p><p>Looking forward, Gutterman said he still has some surprises in the work he hopes to uncover in the near future.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s going be big,&#8221; he said of the new product. &#8220;Real big.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041216NEPAFlavors1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bruce Gutterman in his Kingston office. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041216NEPAFlavors1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bruce Gutterman in his Kingston office. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041216NEPAFlavors3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Flavors R Specialty products </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041216NEPAFlavors3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Flavors R Specialty products </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041216NEPAFlavors2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bruce Gutterman pours peanut butter in his Kingston office. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041216NEPAFlavors2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Bruce Gutterman pours peanut butter in his Kingston office. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @tlggibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Kingston business Flavors R Specialty offers recipe for all things peanut butter