Community Spotlight: The Wilton Candy Kitchen

As I might have mentioned before, Matt and I bought our first house in 2008, just after finding out that I was pregnant with our first son.  Our house was in Wilton, Iowa—a city where neither of us had even been to before deciding that we would like to live in between our family (in Davenport) and our jobs (in Iowa City).  After growing up in Davenport, then living in Iowa City (and even Seville, Spain for 6 months!), it was quite a change to reside in Wilton—population approximately only 2800! (To put it in perspective, our high school  in Davenport had a population of about 2100…ha!)  Needless to say, Wilton and I did not have a happily ever after…but, it is a very friendly little town, and there were some things we really enjoyed about living there.  While I was pregnant, we enjoyed quiet, beautiful walks through the town (yes, through the entire town…lol), and I really liked the feel of the little downtown area.  In particular, the Wilton Candy Kitchen.

Mommy and Sam (only 10 months old then!) at the Candy Kitchen

As I said, we had never even been to Wilton, so we didn’t know anything about the Candy Kitchen before we moved there.  Then one Sunday we decided to go check it out…I’ve always loved little family-run places like this one.  And when we found out just how “family” it was, we were shocked! The history of The Wilton Candy Kitchen is amazing! In fact, when I turned on Internet Explorer about a month ago, the first thing that came across on MSN news was a picture of it!  Believe it or not, this cute little place in tiny little Wilton, Iowa is the oldest ongoing ice-cream parlor/soda fountain in the world.  Yes, you read it right…in the world!  They have been serving visitors for 150 years, and it has been owned by the Nopoulos family for 100 years now.  AMAZING!  Here is a little bit of the history from their website (www.wiltoncandykitchen.com):

Candy Kitchen, circa 1910

The building of the Wilton Candy Kitchen was constructed in 1856, before the Civil War, and is the oldest building in Wilton Iowa, surviving three major fires downtown. It served as a Confectionery Ice Cream Parlor Soda Fountain in the early years, founded by R.A. McIntyre in 1860, and shared the buiding with the U.S. Post Office from 1877-1893.

In 1910, Greek immigrant Gus Nopoulos traveled to Wilton from Davenport, Iowa, with a friend. They were going to attend what was then the Wilton Fair, and it was there that his friend pointed out the recently closed confectionery store in downtown Wilton with "the Tufts Soda Fountain, and all the fixtures in tact."

Subsequently, on June 10th, 1910, Gus G. Nopoulos started living the American Dream as he reopened the doors of the Candy Kitchen. Little did he know that first day the doors would stay open seven days a week, 365 days a year for the next 100 years. That first day, William Taft was President, women couldn't vote, and the Wright Brothers were still trying to sell their first airplane to the US Army.

Gus Nopoulos, 1983

Gus Nopoulos married a girl from Wilton Junction, Frankie Mildred Hudler, who assisted him in the business and raised their two sons, George and Leo. The entire family worked to run the store and all the candy, chocolate, and ice cream was made in house.The Candy Kitchen survived the Great Depression intact and the candy and chocolate making continued up until World War II, when sugar and chocolate became scarce due to the war effort and sons George and Leo left to serve their country.

Many years and decades then flew by, with son George taking over duties at the Candy Kitchen after returning home from the War. Leo moved on to open his own ice cream parlor in central Iowa, later attending law school and becoming a sucessful lawyer. In 1949, George married Thelma Sorteros, a dish washer employed at the Candy Kitchen since she was 10 and the daughter of another Greek imigrant, Peter Sorteros. The two met working behind the soda fountain and with both fathers being from Europe, the matchmaking was inevitable. They fell in love and after marriage, the couple has run the Candy Kitchen together ever since. They raised four children, Gus, Peter, Nic, and Peggy, who carried on the tradition a third generation by working in the parlor as they grew up.

Dr. Gus, Dr. Peter, Nic, Thelma, George, and Peggy - 1991

For over 100 years, the Nopoulos family has seen the Candy Kitchen be a favorite after school or work stop for students and adults alike. Babies become teenagers, teenagers become parents, parents become grandparents, and each succeeding generation continues the tradition of cherry Cokes and grilled combo sandwiches. Today, the seventh generation of patrons still has the Candy Kitchen to call home, just as their grandparents did, and George and Thelma are still working 7 days a week behind the marble soda fountain serving visitors from in the town and around the United States.

In 1993, the Wilton Candy Kitchen was inducted in to the National Register of Historic Places. At a 2001 Wilton City council meeting, George and Thelma were presented with a plaque, having been voted the "First Official Lifetime Ambassadors for the City of Wilton, Iowa," and they were the Grand Marshals of the 2003 Wilton Founder's Day Parade. They celebrated their 60th wedding aniversary with an open house in in 2009, and in 2010 George celebrated his 90th birthday with a celebration. George and Thelma also donated over $137,000 to help match funds for the construction of the Wilton Community center, and in 2010, the Candy Kitchen itself also celebrated 150 years of business from 1860-2010 and 100 years of being in the Nopoulos family.

…wow, what a story! It really is amazing what we can find in our own communities, if we just take the time to explore and find out the stories.  That’s the part I love—the stories.  And of course, the ice cream makes it even better! J