B. C. Tanner Pecan Co. began as a family owned business in 1940 by B. C. Tanner, Sr. The company first started accumulating and selling local pecans. He soon expanded into a complete pecan processing plant in 1948, so he and his son, B. C. Tanner, Jr could serve customers on a regional scale.
B.C. Tanner, Jr. had always dreamed of opening a store that specialized in pecan candies and baked goods – and he did that in 1990 with the completion of the new building, complete with a candy kitchen. From there came his first candy products, Pecan Pralines and Praline Bits. The Praline “Bits” are not only our best-selling pecan product, but were also Mr. Tanner’s personal favorite.
In 2001, Danny and Leslie Fox purchased the business from B.C. Tanner, Jr after they learned of Tanner, Jr’s desire to retire. Now recently, the Foxes have decided to retire and head back to the farm.
In October of 2021, Josh and Kathryn Ray decided to purchase Tanner’s Pecans and Candies, as no strangers to the pecan industry, The Rays have roughly 10 years combined experience in the pecan industry and are extremely excited to keep rich traditions alive at Tanner’s Pecans and Candies.
We take great pride in providing quality products to our customers that are always made with the freshest available pecans.
Meet the Owner
Josh Ray was born in Sedallia, MO and only stayed a short while there until his family moved south when he was roughly a year old. Josh claims he was born and raised in the South. He graduated high school from Greenville High School in Greenville, AL, where he mostly spent his time playing baseball. Josh went on to begin his working career at Priester’s Pecans during the busy seasons, until eventually accepting a full-time position.
In 2015, Josh decided he wasn’t satisfied and decided to go back to college to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and graduated in 2019. After graduating Josh took a one-year teaching gig at McKenzie High School where he taught Career Development, Entrepreneurship, and Business Essentials, and also spent his first year as the Head Softball coach. Josh truly fell in love with this career path but business came calling when he and Kathryn decided to purchase Tanner’s Pecans and Candies.
Kathryn and Josh look forward to serving you each and every holiday as we are keeping our store open all-year long. Come and welcome our new owners to Mobile.