Greek Immigrants Candy Stores in Temple, Texas

GREEK IMMIGRANTS CANDY STORES IN TEMPLE, TEXAS

by TNH Staff

Published in The National Herald Special Edition

July 2019

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I am excited that The National Herald has given Hellenic Genealogy Geek the right to reprint articles that may be of interest to our group. 

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Among the confectioners were the Pappas Brothers, George P. Zacharias, and Argyris Karahal

Renowned for cafes that have been drawing customers for generations across the United States, Greek immigrants showed they knew to make American-style candy too, especially in the town of Temple, Texas when the 20th Century bloomed.

A town already known for confectioneries and sugary goods, Temple saw that reputation grow with the arrival of Greek immigrants, some of whom jumped there from places like New York and Chicago and quickly cooked up the sweet stuff that was irresistible. 

With June being National Candy Month, the Temple Daily Telegram (tdtnews.com) looked back at the many candy places in the town a hundred years ago, featuring those by the Pappas Brothers, George P. Zacharias, who died in 1918 at 40, and Argyris Karahal. 

The Pappas siblings arrived one-by-one, year-by-year, beginning in the early 1900's, landing in the town after working their way across the United States as laborers and cooks before opening the Chicago Cafe, which became a well-known diner. 

“The restaurant is one of the best known and popular in the city,” the paper reported shortly after the diner opened. The Pappas brothers owned the Chicago Café for four years, upgraded the building and then, with the town's penchant for sweets, opened a confectionery store too. 

In July, 1913, the brothers traded their place for 100 acres of land outside of town as senior partner Tom Pappas, who died in 1973 at 91, said they wanted to devote themselves to their new place, Olympia Candy Kitchen, which also offered ice creams, sodas, and other delights and quickly became a popular hangout, especially for sweethearts. 

Bill Pappas, who passed away in 1956, manned the lunch counter, where he was renowned for “Bill’s special chili,” while brother Jim, who died in 1967, worked with him. The Olympia was run by Tom Pappas until his retirement in 1952. 

Karahal, who lived until 1984, came to Texas from a small Greek village, stowing away on a boat at the age of 15 to get to the United States, arriving knowing not a word of English but working odd jobs in Chicago and California before winding up in Temple in 1910, a Greek community base. 

He and four other Greek immigrants rented rooms and sold taffy and other candies from push carts along Avenue H and the high traffic vicinity of the Santa Fe and the Scott & White hospitals, the paper said in his feature. 

In an oral history, Karahal told historian Elliott Robert Barkan that Greek immigrants often established confectioneries in the United States, even in smaller cities such as Temple, and estimated there were as many as 50 in the state. 

By 1922, Temple Daily Telegram advertisements featured Temple Candy Co., Gem Confectionary, Model Confectionery, Triangle Candy Co., American Confectionery, as well as Pappas’ Olympia Candy Kitchen.