This was the second candy store to be located in the Lilac Way Shopping Center, which opened in 1941. Candymaker Ted Georgas bought the store in April 1948 and owned it until 1965.
Ted Georgas was born on September 15, 1890, in Haraka, Greece. He went to Turkey in 1905 and worked at a loukoumi factory, where he learned to make candy (Turkish Delight). He came to the U.S. in 1910 and spent 26 years in Waseca at the Crystal Cafe. The Cafe burned down on January 8, 1942, and Georgas headed to South Carolina before he came to Minnesota in 1946. His family lived at 3941 Xenwood, a location quite proximate to Lilac Way. He and his wife Chrisoulia had two children, Peter and Angeline.
Georgas hand-made and dipped all of his candy in the basement of his store. When he retired a newspaper article said that there was no one to replace him, as candy was all being made by machine.
The photo above from 1960 shows son Peter’s 1955 Pontiac convertible parked in front of the store! Just for fun, below is his car in 1959:
The three color photos below were taken in June 1960. Apparently making candy is a hot business! Photos provided by Peter Georgas and reproduced by Emory Anderson.
Peter and Margaret Georgas displaying his father’s candy thermometer during a trip to the Historical Society on July 3, 2014. Photo by Emory Anderson
Ted Georgas died on May 7, 1975. His wife had passed away just before, on March 4, 1975.