A note from “Zoë”
the back story: love & chocolate
The story starts in Patras, Greece in early 1900s. My great Aunt Mary and Uncle Jim packed their belongings and embarked on a journey to America in hopes of fulfilling a dream. Weeks later, the Greek ship on which they were traveling tied up in Baltimore. With limited income, Mary and Jim built a small pushcart and filled it with homemade, hand-rolled chocolate confections made from recipes they remembered from their parents. Their small pushcart quickly grew into a thriving business.
Soon thereafter, they moved to a small but bustling town nestled in a beautiful valley at the foot of the Blue-Ridge Mountains. Waynesboro, Pennsylvania would become the site for their new home and their new store, which opened in 1902.
Mary sent a letter to her brother Petros, my grandfather, asking him to help them in their growing family chocolate business. Petros arrived in the United States and began learning everything there was to know about making chocolates. He worked diligently to master the English language and learn the candy making skills. He quickly took over all aspects of the business.
A few years later, my grandfather received a picture a beautiful woman. He took one look at the picture and said ‘this is the woman I’m going to marry.’ My grandmother said that when she saw him waiting for her in New York, she was moved to tears because he was so handsome. She always used to say what a gentle soul he was.
Petros and his wife worked side by side running the business for many years. Sadly, in 1970, he passed away and left her and their two children to continue his legacy.
A short while after my grandfather passed away, my father, George, had journeyed to the United States. George decided to visit my grandfather’s family. He has always had such a passion for food and he was eager to help. Soon, he began learning the recipes my grandfather had written down and slowly perfected them. It was not long before he fell in love with Petros’ daughter, my mother, Elaini. They wed in 1978. My father’s short visit turned into a permanent stay and eventually earned him his title of master chocolatier. George has been making the family chocolates ever since.
From one chocoholic to another,
| Zoë |
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