Jim and Karen Paras urge motorists to slow down when rounding the horseshoe bend by Betsy Ann Chocolates in West View — and then stop in for sweets at the factory store.
Their 88-year-old business produces gourmet goodies, including meltaways, cordial cherries, nonpareils and slowpokes, according to recipes created by Betsy Ann Helsel, the company’s late founder and namesake.
Around here, the passage of time is measured by candy instead of a calendar. For generations of Pittsburghers, each sugary morsel is a memory.
As soon as the last of the heart-shaped Valentine’s Day chocolates roll off the line, foil-wrapped bunnies for Easter begin to multiply. The Paras family also produces Irish Potatoes for St. Patrick’s Day. If you managed to snag the seasonal spuds — coconut creams rolled in cocoa powder and cinnamon and topped with a pine nut — before March 17, consider yourself lucky; they disappear faster than a rainbow…