Points in Pittsburgh: Sarris Chocolate Factory

The chocolate and ice cream shop invokes a sense of childlike wonder

When recently presented with the opportunity to visit an ice cream shop and chocolate store founded by a machinery operator located outside Pittsburgh, I went along and with low expectations. I love chocolate. I figured it was probably going to be an enjoyable experience for the chocolate. The visit was more than a treat, however; it was an experience in childlike wonder.

Sarris Candies’ chocolate factory and ice cream shop is located on a hillside road off the highway 18 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. It’s a stand-alone anchor store for a business founded in 1960 by Frank Sarris and you can tell that it’s been there for a while. The entranceway, above, was decorated for a nostalgically industrial and commercial American Christmastime. This should have been my first clue that Sarris Candies wasn’t the typical retail store.