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Tabbara Artisan Chocolate in Point Breeze is based on a family confectionery in Beirut
For Nancy Tabbara, making sweets is more than a business; it’s a connection to the past.
A native of Lebanon, she launched Tabbara Artisan Chocolate three years ago based on recipes from the Beirut confectionery her husband’s family opened in the 1950s.
“It’s sentimental,” she says. “As a first-generation immigrant, I have nostalgia about the business back home.”
Inside her production facility at The XFactory in Point Breeze, she’s creating treats that are as beautiful as they are delicious; tiny works of art made with high-quality ingredients and a lot of love.
Something sweet has sprouted along Freeport Road in Blawnox.
Stippy’s Sweet Treats, an old-time candy store, is stocked with all sorts of goodies from gumballs to guava soda to grab-and-go bags of gobstoppers.
“Any adult that opens up a bucket of Bazooka and takes a big whiff, I guarantee the smell takes you right back to your childhood,” store owner Chuck Stipetich said.
The Blawnox resident opened the corner shop in mid-January, spurred by his family’s desire to operate a small business in the borough.
The store is at 352 Freeport Road, adjacent to the barber shop and just up the block from the municipal office and fire hall. His family was leaning toward a sandwich shop but covid-19 pushed them in a different direction.