On a recent fall trip into Harrisburg, Lewisburg resident Robert Powell stopped in to Matangos Candies to pick up some sweets for his 92-year-old mother. Shop owner Peter Matangos greeted him by name, asked him how his health was and shared a few laughs with his long-time customer.
“Whenever I come to Harrisburg, I stop in here,” says Powell.
What keeps bringing him back? The family-style rapport he has built with the sweet shop and the handcrafted dark chocolates for which his mother says there is no acceptable comparison.
“They keep mama satisfied with candy,” says Powell, who explains that his mother loves that Matangos uses all-natural ingredients. As Peter packaged an assorted box of dark chocolates, he said, “We hook mama up.”
This is business as usual at the 67-year-old candy shop, where Peter, his mother and previous generations have built a strong sense of community and share the joy that homemade candy brings to the taste buds and the soul.
Their sweet history begins with Peter’s Greek grandfather Christoforos “Pop” Matangos, who, in 1941, immigrated to New York from Turkey, where he had learned his delicious craft and created his signature Venetian Mints that are to this day one of Matangos’ best sellers. After serving many years in the Merchant Marines, he moved to Allentown to start a candy shop and soda fountain, which only survived a brief time during the Great Depression. His failed business forced him to move to Scranton, where he worked for Davis Candy, and later to Harrisburg, laboring in the candy kitchen of the long-gone, legendary Pomeroy’s department store.
In 1947, Christoforos opened Matangos Candies out of his home at S. 15th and Catherine streets in the Allison Hill neighborhood of the city. During the late 1950s through the early 1970s, his family helped develop his business into a thriving enterprise, which quickly became a local favorite.
When Christoforos died in 1977 at the age of 84, Peter, his parents and siblings picked up where he left off. Today, Peter is nearly a one-man show, making the candy, running and cleaning the shop, handling marketing and advertising, keeping financial records, answering the phone and greeting customers with his infectious smile and endearing “Hey! How ya’ doin’?”
Helen, Peter’s 81-year-old mother, with whom he lives in Susquehanna Township, also works at Matangos, most often doing the chocolate dipping.
For the 53-year-old candy maker, the magic happens downstairs in the kitchen, where his grandfather dreamt up his homemade recipes for many years, passed down his techniques and recipes, and told Peter, “Don’t change anything I’ve done, and you’ll be in business for years.” With strong admiration for his grandfather, Peter listened and has helped to round out the family tradition, staying true to “Pop” and their long-time customers.
Back in Time
Walking into Matangos is like taking a trip back in time. With obvious admiration and respect for his grandfather, Peter hasn’t changed a thing. Matangos still offers Christoforos’ signature Venetian mints and ivory (or white) dipped chocolates, something that he was the first in the country to make. The candy shop boasts a wide variety of treats using its patriarch’s exact recipes, which include Wilbur Chocolate (Christoforos’ favorite) and do not contain artificial ingredients. Only the fruit creams contain food coloring to differentiate between the flavors.
“There is no junk in our candy. A 3-year-old could read our ingredients,” Peter quips, and explains that he has had numerous salesmen come to the shop trying to sell him Vanillin (imitation vanilla), which he has always refused.
Peter has even kept his grandfather’s old candy cases, which house Christoforos’ antique stenciled candy signs, and he continues to use all of his grandfather’s chocolate-making equipment, which he swears by. “I have never replaced any equipment,” he says.
This is the magic of Matangos. Peter and Helen have kept family traditions alive, housing antique artifacts at their shop; providing hometown, family-oriented customer service; insisting on using the best ingredients; and only serving the freshest, tastiest candies. While many chains offer cheaper treats at nearly every grocery store in driving distance, Peter says that Matangos boasts freshly made chocolates, which, at any given point in time, have sat in his vintage candy cases for no more than four to six weeks. When you buy a box of chocolate at a large retail store, there is no telling just how old the candy is.
Special Visit
Upon entering Matangos, the aroma of chocolate welcomes you for a special visit, and then, slipping a luscious chocolate into your mouth, you realize why this shop is a well-loved gem in the city. Velvety chocolate caramels melt in your mouth, without the unpleasant side effect of getting the confection stuck in your teeth.
The Figaro, a delightful, three-layered hazelnut chocolate candy, adds a rich, unique flair to Matangos’ offerings. Chocolate-covered toffees offer a quick trip to heaven, with a bold, yet smooth, buttery flavor. And, the Venetian mints—which come in milk, dark and ivory chocolate assortments—elicit audible signs of enjoyment and a nostalgic appreciation for the thoughtfully crafted candy, concocted many years ago. These are a few of the treats that keep customers coming back for more and that influence Peter’s cheerful disposition, loving gratitude and respect for his grandfather’s craft—one that has become his own.
With the holiday season underway, Peter says he will sometimes work 12 to 14-hour days, but the love of candy making keeps him going, without feeling the exhaustion that long workdays can create.
Each year, one of Matangos’ busiest holiday seasons is Christmas—during which time Peter and Helen crank out seasonal favorites like chocolate Santas, classic barley sugar toy lollipops, chocolate straws and red and green Jordan almonds. Easter also proves to be an industrious holiday, when Matangos fulfills orders for chocolate peanut butter eggs and chocolate bunnies, among other favorites. Valentine’s is another big day for the candy shop, which produces close to 500 pounds of chocolate-covered strawberries leading up to the sweet holiday. Matangos offers candy for same-day purchase out of the candy cases, as well as through special orders, in which Peter says he “chocolate-covers anything.”
Handcrafting candy for 35 years, Peter can’t imagine doing anything else. When his grandfather taught him how to make candy during his childhood, he was captivated.
“I knew when I was about 14 that this is what I wanted to do,” he says. “I love it; I can’t help it. I don’t dread coming to work every day. I have never had an angry person in here. I have the sweetest job in Harrisburg.”
Matangos Candies
1501 Catherine St., Harrisburg
717-234-0882
https://www.matangoscandies.com
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Harrisburg small business articles are proudly sponsored by Select Capital Commercial Properties Inc.
