The Chocolate Shop

<--Is that one of those Seeburg 1947 Trashcan Jukeboxes?


written on the reverse of the above photograph.

"The Chocolate Shop"
Franklin Road
Nashville, Tenn-
(Jerry's place)owner

 


I was born and raised in Nashville. My parents were not natives, but each moved to Nashville at such a young age that this city has always been home. I grew up listening to stories about the legendary banana splits that Jerry fixed for my mother when she was pregnant with me. (Her doctor had advised her to gain weight at some point during the pregnancy.)
When I saw the original post about The Chocolate Shop, I showed it to my Dad, and he wrote up the following recollections:

In the late 1940s, the Anderson family lived on Sweetbriar Ave. a few doors east of Belmont Blvd. They owned Candyland at the corner of Church St. and 7th Ave. N. A relative owned Candyland, now Vandyland, on West End Ave. Jerry Georges, the brother of Mrs. Anderson, came from Greece to work at the West End store. He had served as a soldier in the Greek Army in WWII.

When Pete Stumb vacated the restaurant at the corner of Franklin Rd and Berry Rd, Jerry decided to open The Chocolate Shop in that space. I used a truck to help move large copper kettles and marble slabs that he used to make candy. When I came to work everyday in a factory behind the shop at five in the morning, I would pitch pebbles at an upstairs window, where he then lived above the shop. Later I would come back there for breakfast. He later married Helen who moved in with him. His ice cream was so rich that it would cling to the roof of your mouth.
When the Communists took over Greece, Jerry’s older brother, Dino, a lawyer and “congressman”, had to escape that country or risk execution. He and his two sons came and moved in with Jerry and Helen. One of the sons was named Yannie who later opened a restaurant by that name in Green Hills. Eventually Jerry and Helen moved to Chattanooga. Ultimately I-65 took over the location in the late 60s.
The Andersons had two daughters named Angela and Bessie, both of whom I knew and attended school with me. They worked some in both shops. I believe Angela married Nick Morris, who became Jerry’s partner. Later, Nick left to open the Sweet Shop at Hillsboro and Capers Ave. Today, The Sportsman’s Grille occupies that location
.
-Ben

About this site
Nashville Area Business
Churches
City Views
Entertainment
events
Government Buildings
hospitals
Nashville Hotels
houses
Links
Monuments & Statues
Motels
parks
People
Nashville's More Notable Buildings
Restaurants
Schools
Theaters
Back To The Beginning
Changes log
<-Back   ||   ©2007 Martin Evans   ||   email: [email protected]