In 1971, George’s son, Will, purchased the business and quickly ushered Olympia into a newer more modern era of advanced equipment and expanded production. In 1978, Will opened an old-fashioned ice cream parlor in the rear of the Olympia Candy Kitchen. Also rich in the atmosphere of the late Victorian period, the Olympia Ice Cream Parlor offered yesteryear goodness: fabulous sundaes, thick milk shakes, and nostalgic sodas all made with Olympia’s very own ice creams.
In 1986, Will remodeled an old gas station into a beautiful Victorian cottage retail store on Pennsylvania Avenue in Hagerstown, MD. This established a new tradition of high quality chocolates candies, as well as fine, unique gifts for the fast growing population of the Washington County area.
Today the Olympia Candy Kitchen continues to thrive under the ownership of Tony Pananes, son of Will, with a turn-of-the-century look of hand carved display bars, hanging brass gas lights and the largest selection of the freshest homemade chocolates and candies you can find. Tony has expanded the lines of chocolates created fresh on site as well as fun bagged and novelty candies that further diversify Olympia’s offerings. “Something for everyone’s taste” is what Olympia strives for and Tony continues to keep quality, freshness and customer service at the core of what keeps the business running after almost 117 years.