In 1914, Charlie and Orania Sarandou emigrated from Greece to Pittsburgh, bringing family recipes for chocolate and ice cream. They built a modest chocolate shop and soda fountain that passed from generation to generation, evolving to include a chocolate factory and later, gourmet milkshakes. In 2003, Dana Edwards Manatos, the great granddaughter of the Sarandous, created a business plan—as part of a college program—to make her mother’s chocolate shop less of a seasonal business and drive year-round sales. Milkshake Factory was whipped into existence.
With 11 locations in Pittsburgh plus 15 franchise locations around the country, Milkshake Factory serves 26 varieties of hand-spun shakes, as well as chocolate bark, cake pops, and stroopwafels. In late summer or early fall, Milkshake Factory will open its first Georgia location in Milton (12660 Crabapple Road). A South Forsyth shop (850 Peachtree Parkway) will follow, with a Roswell outpost planned for the end of the year.
“We make our own ice cream daily with a family recipe made specifically for milkshakes (more than 10 percent butterfat),” says Manatos, now CEO. “It’s the best milkshake on the market.”…