10-4 Magazine September 2022

10-4 Magazine / September 2022 85 was closed and sold, as were the soda fountain and candy cases. The building sat empty for 30 years before Devon and Ann decided to come home, buy the building, and reopen the business. Lucky for them, the original soda fountain and candy cases were never removed – they had just been sitting there for 30 years, as well. Maybe it was all just waiting to be put back together and, once again, become a local gathering place, as it had been for so many years. At the end of our tour, we bought a package of assorted chocolates to go, and Devon showed us a book that her sister Ann wrote about her grandfather’s journey to here, and how so many shops just like this one had come to be in Midwest Illinois. John bought Jacob and I each a book, and I had no idea just how much I was going to learn. The research that Ann did to tell the story of her grandfather, along with so many other Greek immigrants that came here who, against the odds, worked very hard, apprenticed, and then started their own business, is absolutely phenomenal! Their first stop here was Ellis Island in New York, and from there many ended up traveling to Chicago and St Louis, then filtering out to the small towns in the Midwest. Some of the men, including her grandfather, would go west in the summer to work on the railroad to earn enough money to come back and open their own business. Many would learn to become confectioners by apprenticing under men who already had established shops. Gus learned the confectionery business from Peter Vriner, who had taught many of the central Illinois Greek confectioners to not only make candy, but how to set up their businesses, as well. Gus also used the book Rigby’s Reliable Candy Teacher as a guide. There are still notations in their grandfather’s copy that they use today in their own candy making operation. Most first-generation recipes were either handed down, shared orally, or copied from other recipe books. The confectionery tools and ingredients have not changed in over one hundred years, and Rigby’s book remains an invaluable source for confectioners today. The building was originally bought for $25,000, but they took $1,200 off because the basement needed to be excavated. This is important because the basement is where the candy was made until the 1970s. This seemed to be a fairly common practice among Greek candy makers. The girl’s father Paul can remember Saturday nights when families would bring in produce to barter. They would have dinner, take in a movie, and enjoy an ice cream soda on the corner of Main and Sale. Gus would roll the combination popcorn popper and peanut roaster (pictured) out on the sidewalk, and then goodness was dispensed in a bag, for just a nickel each. I applaud these women for coming back and breathing new life into the business that was their grandfather’s life work. I’m sure their grandfather has to be smiling, to see what they are doing, in the place he once called home. Ann recently retired, and Devon and her husband Bob bought out her share of the business. “We plan to die behind the soda fountain,” she said. You can visit them online at www.flesorskitchen.com and see for yourself all the wonderful sweets and food they have to offer. And if you are passing through, it would be worth your while to stop in and enjoy a meal and some ice cream. They are open 6 days a week, Tuesday through Sunday, from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. n