Flesor Family Chocolate Tradition
Generations of Chocolate
Flesor's Candy Kitchen is a resurrection of our family's locally famous soda fountain and confectionary business located in its original site.
Built
in 1871, the building is part of the original town. In 1901, shortly
after his emigration from Greece, our grandfather, Gus Flesor, bought
the building and opened his own confectionary, a trade he learned
from other Greek immigrants who were migrating downstate from Chicago.
Success in the business allowed him to bring two brothers over to America, support his own growing family and contribute to his new town, Tuscola, with a viable business and leadership in community organizations.
Well into his nineties, Gus Flesor was interviewed as part of the University of Illinois' 1973 documentary of central Illinois artisans. In addition, our entire family was highlighted as the subsequent generations to maintain the now-vanishing craft of homemade candy and ice cream manufacturing.
Flesor's Candy Renovation
A challenge for the owners, architects, and contractors is the requirement that the new store maintain the original aesthetics and ambience of the original Kandy Kitchen. Amazingly, a majority of the original fixtures were still located in Tuscola and were acquired for re-installation wherever possible. Other items that are no longer available or usable were updated or re-created in detail to maintain historical accuracy.
Got a story? We'd love to hear it!
Do you have a favorite story or anecdote related to the original "Kandy
Kitchen"? If so, we would love to hear from you.
Click
here to submit your story or memory!
(We may publish all or part
of your submission on this page unless you specifically request otherwise.)
