Sarris Candies Opens Doors to Chocolate-Making Magic
- Shari Berg
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
When Frank Sarris crafted his first box of chocolates for his sweetheart, Athena, in the late 1940s, he could not have imagined that his basement hobby would one day fill a 135,000-square-foot former steel mill with the aroma of melting chocolate. More than six decades later, that sweet gesture has grown into Sarris Candies, a Pennsylvania chocolate institution that is about to invite the public behind the scenes in a way they never have before.
The Canonsburg-based chocolatier hopes to complete phase two of its massive new facility by the end of February — a project that includes a candy store with a mezzanine overlooking the cooking kitchens and production lines. For the first time, chocolate lovers will be able to watch pipes carrying liquid chocolate throughout the building and witness the real-deal candy factory operations that have been family secrets for generations.
“People like to see what’s going on,” said Bill Sarris, Frank and Athena’s son, who now runs the company his father founded in 1960. “We get calls all the time, whether it’s groups or bus tours. People want to go places and see things. An opportunity to see all the chocolates being made is cool.”
The journey to this moment has been anything but smooth. The COVID-19 pandemic caused major delays in phase one of moving operations from the old location to the historic Fort Pitt Bridge Works building near downtown Canonsburg. What should have been completed by 2023 stretched on as the company worked to relocate equipment and get production running in the cavernous space.
But the Sarris family’s commitment to Canonsburg never wavered, even when other options would have taken them elsewhere with a quicker timeline for completion. “The town of Canonsburg is doing a lot of great things, and we want to be a part of it,” Sarris said.
The choice of the former Bridge Works building was both practical and sentimental. It had the space Sarris desperately needed, but it also carried history — more than 100 years of industrial heritage embedded in its bones. The company kept all the steel beams the Bridge Works used to fabricate bridge parts, creating a dramatic backdrop for chocolate production. The concrete floors and walls, three feet thick from the building’s steel-working days, provide excellent soundproofing and a tangible connection to Canonsburg’s manufacturing past.
“It’s impressive to see,” Sarris said. “You see all the pipes running through the building, all the chocolate running throughout the building. It’s a candy factory — it’s the real deal.”
For 13 months, the company has been working on phase two, transforming what was an empty shell into a functioning candy store with viewing areas. The tours, which will be scheduled online and limited to 40 people at a time, are expected to take approximately 45 minutes to an hour. At $10 per person, visitors will get more than just a peek at production. They’ll receive sample chocolates and a pass for a free ice cream sundae at the iconic ice cream parlor just up the road. “You’re going to pay $10, but you’ll get more than $10 back before you leave,” Sarris said.
The company is still finalizing tour details and will announce them on social media and its website. Sarris hopes the facility will become an attraction during Canonsburg’s regular community events, though he’s mindful of balancing demand without overwhelming operations. “It all depends on what kind of reaction we get,” he said. “We hope everybody wants to come, and I think they will.”
The story Sarris will share with visitors traces back to his childhood, when he was 12 or 13 years old, learning to hand-dip chocolates alongside his father. Frank had started in his basement, then moved in 1963 to a small candy shop next door to the family home. “Since I was 12 or 13, I’ve been around chocolates, learned how to hand-dip chocolates, and worked along with my dad,” Sarris recalled.
The business kept expanding. An old-fashioned ice cream parlor opened in 1979, emulating the soda fountains Frank remembered from traditional candy stores. The family home was eventually torn down to make way for growth, and the retail store expanded to fill an entire city block, complete with a 1,500-pound chocolate castle centerpiece. In 1997, Sarris Candies acquired Gardners Candies in Tyrone, gaining the beloved Original Peanut Butter Meltaway® and another 140 employees to add to the nearly 200 in Canonsburg.
Today, Sarris Candies products are available at about 1,300 locations, including Giant Eagle, Shop ’n Save, Hallmark stores, and specialty shops across more than 17 states, yet the company maintains its family feel. “You sit there and say it’s a family business, and we still feel that way,” Sarris said. “We hope our employees feel that way, too.”
The existing ice cream parlor and retail store will remain open, giving visitors multiple ways to experience the Sarris tradition. But the new facility represents something different — innovation, culture, education, and a celebration of craft that Frank Sarris began in his basement all those years ago.