Arnold's Valos Chocolates celebrates 70th anniversary

A sweet opportunity presented itself to John Mandak in 1988.

The New Kensington resident was on the lookout for a restaurant to buy. He found one, but when that deal fell through, he heard Valos House of Candy in Arnold was on the market.

“I knew nothing about candy and chocolate,” said Mandak, standing in his present-day 10,000-square-foot factory on Fifth Avenue in downtown Arnold. “My sister thought I was crazy.”

Alleged craziness aside, Mandak bought the business.

Today, alongside his sister, sister-in-law, wife and a staff of 20, Mandak churns out small batches of handmade chocolates six days a week — all made from scratch.

As what is now known as Valos Chocolates celebrates its 70th anniversary, Mandak said business is “fabulous.”

“God was looking after me when I bought this,” he said.

Mandak is the sole male working at the family-run factory each day.

“I need to hire some more men,” he joked. “But, here, we are all a family.”

More than 500 pounds of chocolate are melted daily to create the three top sellers: Pecan turtles, peanut butter meltaways and coconut clusters.

“I eat chocolate every day,” Mandak said.

His favorite? “The pecan turtles.”

Chocolate tradition

The original Valos House of Candy opened in 1947 when the late Theodore “Ted” Vasilopus brought his knowledge of candy-making to Arnold. In the 1930s, he learned the trade while working in his uncle's candy store in Chicago.

The name Valos was a spin-off of Ted's Greek last name.

Ted and his wife, Rose, operated Valos House of Candy until Rose's death in 1984.

Valos remained closed until 1988, when Mandak bought it with the stipulation that Ted teach him his candy secrets and methods.

“Ted was elderly then,” Mandak said. “He stayed for three years and taught me how to run things.

“I messed up a lot. I had no idea how difficult it was to make candy. If I did, I would have never bought the business.”

Ted's sister-in-law, Lena Vasilopus, was instrumental in educating Mandak in all things chocolate.

“She is an awesome woman and was instrumental with the transition,” Mandak said.

Lena, 92, a resident at the Belair nursing home in Lower Burrell, recalled teaching Mandak the secrets that she and Ted held close.

“He didn't know about chocolate, but I give him the credit for being a good student,” Lena said. “He is a very nice man.”

Lena said she nibbles on Valos chocolates “occasionally,” was once a “chocoholic” and smelled like chocolate constantly during her Valos days.

She isn't surprised that Valos Chocolates is ushering in its 70th year.

“It's wonderful,” Lena said. “He (Ted) had a good product.”

Mandak expanded to a retail location along Freeport Road in Arnold. Valos offers more than 60 chocolate varieties.

“I grew up as a child eating Valos chocolates,” said Linda Calcagno, retail store manager for Valos for almost a decade. “The kids come in here, and they are in awe.”

Sales top $1 million

Mandak's wife, Karen, manages the outside sales division. The chocolates are sold at more than 20 retail outlets, among them Giant Eagle, Community Market and Shop 'N Save stores in the Alle-Kiski Valley.

“In the past seven years, we are quite proud of the expansion and branding of Valos,” said Karen Mandak, who helped redesign the packaging, tweaking the Valos logo and name, and dropping “House of Candy” to a simplified “Valos Chocolates.”

Annual sales exceed $1 million , according to Mandak, and Americans are spending big bucks to satisfy their urge for chocolate.

According to data released in 2014 by the National Confectioners Association, the U.S. confectionery industry generated $34.5 billion in sales that year, with milk chocolate commanding the largest chocolate segment nationwide.

The same holds true at Valos, Mandak said.

Not bad for a tiny candy shop that competes with three other Alle-Kiski Valley chocolatiers: Clark Candies of Tarentum, Nora Arnesberger's in Brackenridge and Catoris Candies in New Kensington.

“When I took over the business, I was afraid,” Mandak said. “There was a lot of competition around this area.”

Employee Patti DiCello of New Kensington never thought there was much involved with making chocolate candy.

“From start to finish, I never knew it was so complicated,” said DiCello, who favors the dark chocolate sea salt meltaways.

Valos experiences a business slowdown during summers and offers limited retail store hours. But when Easter approaches, it ramps up production.

“We are so much busier just keeping up with the demand,” DiCello said.

Mandak hires auxiliary police officers to direct traffic in and out of the parking lot during the Easter rush that he described as “two weeks of insanity.”

These days, John's sister, Louise Yohe, doesn't think her brother is crazy after all.

“I knew nothing (about chocolate) in the beginning, either,” she said.

Joyce Hanz is a freelance writer.