Crown Candy Kitchen is restaurant, ice cream fountain, and candy store located on St. Louis Avenue in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. A St. Louis landmark, it is the oldest operating soda fountain in the metropolitan area, and one of the oldest in the country. The restaurant has an old-fashioned decor with Coca-Cola memorabilia from the 1930s, an antique cash register, and four-person booths. It offers a simple menu with sandwiches and is known for its desserts, especially for its handmade malts or malted milkshakes. It is popular as a lunch destination with office workers in nearby downtown St. Louis. The chocolate is made from decades-old molds, some imported from Holland and Germany.
History
The restaurant was founded in 1913 by two Macedonian immigrants. It was first operated by Harry Karandzieff and his friend Pete Jugaloff, then his son George, and later George's three sons, Andy, Tommy, and Mike Karandzieff. Harry Karandzieff and his friend Pete Jugaloff opened Crown Candy in 1913. Crown Candy has been making ice cream since 1925. A fire caused by a space heater damaged the restaurant on December 25, 1983. Some Coca-Cola memorabilia and $2,000 of candy was destroyed. Business was slowest in the 1970s and it picked up in the 1990s. Crown Candy switched from Coca-Cola to Pepsiin 1999.
Crown Candy challenge
The restaurant offers a challenge to consumers of their trademark malts. Should a person drink five 24-ounce malts or shakes within 30 minutes, they receive the malts for free and have their name inscribed upon a plaque in the store. The record for the five malt challenge is 2 minutes, 29 seconds by Randy Santel. For seven malts, the record is six minutes, by Ben Monson. Since 1913, only about 55 people have successfully completed the Crown Candy Challenge, while several attempt it each week.
The Crown Candy challenge was attempted on the Travel Channel's television series, Man v. Food, by the show's host, Adam Richman, on an episode that aired on 25 February 2009. Richman was only able to finish about four of the five malts. In 2012, it was featured on another Adam Richman-hosted show, Best Sandwich in America, for its "Heart-Stopping BLT" sandwich, which uses 14 pieces of crispy, kettle-cooked bacon.
