Dear Chocolate Lovers:
If you love fine chocolates with old-fashioned goodness, you have come to the right place – Dorothy’s Candies. I (Robert) have enjoyed making and eating chocolates since I was a tyke in my grandmother’s kitchen, Mae Gillespie. She and my mother, Dorothy, concocted yummy confections in Mae’s home in the West End of Pittsburgh, then a working-class neighborhood overlooking Pittsburgh’s legendary steel mills. Mae got Dorothy involved when the two sold their confections door-to-door during the Great Depression.
Later my mother Dorothy opened a tiny shop in the basement of our home in McKeesport, just up the Monongahela River. People were constantly clamoring for her gifts of homemade chocolates, and Dorothy thought selling them would be a nifty way to save up for my college fund.
It was this tiny basement shop that had become Dorothy’s Candies. Many people from this area also remember the small shop she later opened on Versailles Avenue in McKeesport.
Today, we sell our chocolates all across the United States and beyond — more than ten tons of boxed chocolates each year. Our facilities are larger today than Dorothy’s cramped basement, but our commitment to artisan processes remains unchanged. We still use all the secret recipes Dorothy developed over the years, both for dipping chocolates and creating delectable fillings. True to Dorothy’s vision, we still use only the finest ingredients available today, from fresh, crunchy nuts, to rich, creamery butter. All of our chocolates begin with Dorothy’s unique Swiss chocolate.
Whether in Pittsburgh or anywhere in the world, we invite you to taste the difference between a commitment to artisanal craftsmanship. With over ten tons of boxed chocolates sold yearly, Dorothy’s Candies is a true American success story. Try our chocolates today and experience the taste of Pittsburgh chocolates at its finest.
We hope that you will enjoy Dorothy’s Candies with your family!
Sincerely,
Robert Gastel