Crown Candy Kitchen

Located in the Old North neighborhood, Crown Candy Kitchen was established in 1913 by Harry Karandzieff and his friend, Pete Jugaloff. In the early twentieth century, Karandzieff emigrated from Greece, bringing his family's recipes and confectionary skills to the U.S. Considered the oldest soda fountain in St. Louis and one of the oldest in the country, Crown Candy Kitchen also sells homemade chocolates crafted from over 500 antique molds. Harry's son, George, took over the business in 1951, during an era when neighborhood candy shops and luncheonettes had become a fixture in American cities and towns. The business has stayed in the family, with the third generation Karandzieffs currently running the shop and no plans to slow down anytime soon.

Crown Candy Kitchen was founded in 1913 by a Greek immigrant, Harry Karandzieff, along with his friend Pete Jugaloff, in St. Louis's Old North neighborhood. Upon arriving in the U.S., Harry Karandzieff put in his time learning a new language and taking odd jobs to earn money until he was able to open up his own business. Crown Candy began as a neighborhood candy shop before it started also serving lunch (and the word "Kitchen" was added to its name). During the early years, Harry lived with his wife and children in an apartment above the shop. Harry’s son, George, described how a handful of regular customers would come in for lunch each day. George started by selling popcorn outside the shop and washing dishes, while his father shared with him the confectionary skills and family recipes that he had acquired from his own parents in Macedonia. In 1925, the Karandzieffs added ice cream to the menu, and the business slowly grew.

After George took over from his father in 1951, he continued to specialize in making chocolates, working long hours with his wife, Bessie, sometimes six or seven days a week. George and Bessie scoured the antique markets looking for original candy molds from Europe. They amassed a collection of over 500 molds in various shapes and sizes, including several versions of the Easter bunny and chocolate Easter eggs sought after by customers who celebrate the holiday each spring. While giving a tour of the shop’s chocolate-making operations for PBS Nine, George noted that he never expected the business to be such a success with its booming chocolate sales. That season, Crown Candy Kitchen sold 8,000 pounds of chocolate, including 3,500 pounds of chocolate Easter bunnies.

George Karandzieff passed away on Easter Sunday 2005, and his three sons (Andy, Tommy, and Mike) stepped up to continue running the business. They decided to keep the retro jukebox and 1950s soda fountain decor. According to the third generation, the essential ingredient that has kept customers coming back is the fact that the shop hasn’t changed much since 1913. Andy told PBS Nine that customers like Crown Candy Kitchen because “it’s unique. There aren't a lot of places like us left out there. To be perfectly honest, what you’re seeing is the future—you’re looking at it. We’re not going anywhere; we want to be right on this corner for the next maybe 50 to 100 years.” When Mike Karandzieff died in 2012, his brothers doubled down to keep the business going strong. Andy's wife Sherri, a former corporate executive, took on a larger role, having managed the shop's marketing since 2009.

In 2010, a major redevelopment project revitalized the Old North neighborhood, highlighting Crown Candy Kitchen and other local businesses on N. 14th Street as the heart of the new “Crown Square." Today, Crown Candy Kitchen draws a mixture of local residents, lunch-break crowds from downtown St. Louis, tourists, and other visitors, including a few politicians and celebrities. On one occasion, the actor Bill Murray is reputed to have bought 110 malts for the crew of a movie that was filming in the area. Jamaica Ray, a St. Louis musician, often performs outside Crown Candy Kitchen, and the shop itself has been featured on television shows locally and regionally, as well as on national networks such as the Cooking Channel and the streaming service, Discovery+.

Media buzz aside, the owners believe that shop’s longevity can largely be attributed to hard work, consistency, and the fact that customers still share stories about how their grandparents met at Crown Candy Kitchen, or how they remember waiting tables on-site as their first summer job or playing on the shop’s pinball machine during their youth. In a 2013 article, St. Louis Magazine stated wryly that, “The Karandzieffs made the century-old Crown Candy Kitchen an icon by avoiding change, failing to innovate, and refusing to expand.” Perhaps in conjunction with the revitalization and modernization that has occurred in the Old North neighborhood around them, their approach seems to have worked. In recent years, the Karandzieffs have continued offering an old-fashioned candy-shop and soda fountain atmosphere just like they always have, yet they've also evolved by growing their online presence and shipping their homemade chocolates all over the world. Crown Candy Kitchen also participates in community outreach initiatives, offering special boxes of chocolates with proceeds benefitting local causes.

About Us, Crown Candy Kitchen. Accessed February 22nd, 2023. https://crowncandykitchen.net/about/.

Carnahan, Jean. "Crown Candy Kitchen: How Sweet It Is", Good Food STL. July 8th, 2016. Accessed February 22nd, 2023. https://www.goodfoodstl.com/tag/harry-karandzieff/.

Cooperman, Jeanette. "Keeping It Simple: Crown Candy Kitchen", STL Mag. June 20th, 2013. Accessed February 22nd, 2023. https://www.stlmag.com/Keeping-It-Simple/.

"Crown Candy Kitchen | Living St. Louis," PBS Nine / YouTube Channel. Accessed February 22nd, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jzPakCsiA.

Huffmann, Rachel. "A Century Later, Crown Candy Kitchen Still Serves Up Classic Treats in St. Louis", Feast Magazine. March 26th, 2020. Accessed February 22nd, 2023. https://www.feastmagazine.com/restaurants/article_bc774284-6ed7-11ea-bceb-73a6422fe3a3.html.