Sarris Candies, Inc., is a specialty

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

and candies

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

based in

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, southwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 180 ...

, approximately 18 miles (29 km) southwest of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. It was founded in 1960 by Frank Sarris.

History

Frank Sarris (September 22, 1931 – March 1, 2010) of Canonsburg, the son of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

, started his candy business in 1960 by making chocolates in the basement of his

Washington County, Pennsylvania Washington County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 209,349. Its county seat is Washington, Pe ...

, home.Cato, Jason
Canonsburg 'Candy Man' Sarris dies at 78
''

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'', also known as "the Trib", is the second-largest daily newspaper serving the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area of Western Pennsylvania. It transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, but rema ...

'' (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). Tuesday, March 2, 2010. Sarris learned how to produce chocolate from lifelong friend and mentor John Macris, a fellow Greek and founder of Philadelphia Candies. By 1963, Sarris had outgrown his basement, so he built a small candy shop next door to his house, and five years later the house was demolished to make room for an even bigger candy shop. Over the years, the company grew to include more than 350 employees and $16 million in annual sales, according to the company's Web site. In 1982, with the help of his son, Sarris created his very own old-fashioned

Ice cream parlor Ice cream parlors (American English) or ice cream parlours (British English) are parlor that sell ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and/or frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is typically sold as regular ice cream (also called hard-packed or hard- ...

complete with period-style, red and brass booths and shimmering crystal chandeliers. Today, the Sarris Chocolate Factory and Ice Cream Parlour fill an area the size of a football field with over 100 yards of chocolate, penny candy, ice cream and lifelike plush toys. Sarris' candies can be found at hundreds of annual

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

events to kiosks in more than 500 Hallmark stores around the country.Bradwell, Michael
Frank Sarris dies at 78
, '' Observer-Reporter'' (Washington, Pennsylvania). March 3, 2010. On February 3, 2012, the factory caught fire shortly before 7AM with 20,000 pounds of chocolate but has since been restored.

References

External links

Sarris Candies corporate website
*Map: {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarris Candies Chocolate companies based in Pennsylvania Ice cream parlors in the United States Canonsburg, Pennsylvania American companies established in 1960 Food and drink companies established in 1960 Retail companies established in 1960 1960 establishments in Pennsylvania Companies based in Washington County, Pennsylvania American brands