Monday, March 28, 2005

Diamond's Candy Shoppe

Over on Sammie's site we got into a discussion of different types of Easter chocolates people in various parts of the world enjoy. Locally it is very common to get religiously-themed chocolates, including crosses, but this is apparently unusual enough that some chocolate shop in New England got an official scolding from some local church official over chocolate crosses, and the whole affair was reported on CNN.

Some of my friends reminded me that Nanticoke's own Diamond's Candy Shoppe had some very unusual shapes of chocolate, so I decided to go see what I could get.

Diamond's has been a fixture of Nanticoke all of my life. It is located just off our city square, in a not-very-good neighborhood. Their chocolate is, I think, the best I have ever had, not too waxy or too sugary and with a strong chocolate aroma, but I am probably biased in this regard.


Diamond's Candy Shoppe, October 30 2004 Posted by Hello

I walked into the store this morning and was greeted by the proprietor, Mr. Panagakos, who was still reeling from the Easter rush. I told him I was looking for some unusual shapes, that my friends had told me he had chocolate knives and guns and Darth Vader heads. He didn't know about these shapes, but he did show me some other unusual ones - a chocolate Empire State Building for $26.50, a chocolate dancing pig and dog, and another chocolate pig. While he was going through the comical chocolate animals he came across the chocolate handgun, which surprised him quite a bit. I also spotted a fleet of chocolate submarines on his shelf and asked him to get one down for me. I thought I spotted a chocolate knife in the front display case, but it turned out to be the blade of a pair of chocolate scissors. Near the scissors was a whole tray of chocolate American flags, with the message "PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN" barely visible at the bottom.


Some chocolate shapes from Diamond's Posted by Hello

I bought all of these, which Mr. Panagakos gave to me at the traditional discount given by most local shopkeepers (who tend to round down all of their prices), and he also threw in some cream-filled Easter Eggs free of charge ("Everybody likes Easter Eggs!" he enthused in his thick Greek accent as he shoveled them into the bag.)

I asked him for a business card as I paid for my goodies, and he pointed out that his clear plastic business card case was empty save for the one taped to the front - which he pulled off and gave to me, noting that the guy who takes care of printing his cards should be getting him more soon.


Diamond's business card Posted by Hello

If you ever find yourself in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it's worth your while to visit Nanticoke and get some delicious chocolate from Diamond's Candy Shoppe at 4 East Broad Street. You'll be glad you did!

3 comments:

Grundsau said...

Thanks for posting this. Although Mr. Panagakos closed the store about 4-5 years ago, it's so grand to see a picture of his store and business card. I have one for a bookmark,but I got lotsa books!

Louis said...

I literally grew up in Diamond's in the 1950's. My grandfather was the owner, Louis Diamond. As a teen I was a "soda jerk" in the store making all kinds of ice cream treats for customers and during the holidays my brothers and I worked upstairs in the candy factory making everything you can imagine. We made and sold some of the best candies, chocolates, ice cream I ever tasted before or since.

Carey Hughes said...

Louis, I am Joe Hughes' daughter. Demetra's granddaughter.