Living the 'sweet' life - for 100 years
by NICHOLAS J. PRIMERANO Ken-Ton Editor

Nicholas Condrell moved to this country with the intention of living the "American dream."

One hundred years later, he is being celebrated for not only achieving the dream, but for having become famous in the candy making community.

The owner of Buffalo's heralded "Garden of Sweets'" and Kenmore's "Condrell's Candies" turns 100 this year, and on Sept. 9, his family celebrated in the same fashion that Condrell made his mark -with a large ice cream social.

Nick Condrell was born in Greece on Nov. 22, 1906 and moved to the United States when he was 13 years old. He was following his older brother Paul, whom he had never met.

Paul Condrell was also a candy maker and entrepreneur, owning the Alcobar where Nick worked. The store was located on Delaware Avenue in Kenmore.

The Alcobar was named after an almond coconut candy bar the duo had created.

Nick spent many years delivering ice cream on his bike for his brother, as well as living in Kenmore and attending Kenmore schools.

Until his retirement, Nick always attended Kenmore football games and stayed active in the community. His daughter, Anne Magnini, said he loved the Kenmore community.

When Nick grew up, he wed Mary Liakeas in 1936. The Liakeas family owned the Garden of Sweets on William Street.

In the 1930s and 1940s, all the candy makers and store owners knew each other and often talked shop about the candy making business. Nick met Mary at a "candy making convention," according to Magnini.

In 1940, Nick opened the Garden of Sweets on Bailey Avenue. He owned that store for many years and sold it in 1968, the same year he opened Condrell's Candies on Delaware Avenue in Kenmore.

Nick worked seven days a week, often until early in the morning. According to his family, that is just the way he was when he was working. He lived his life that way for so long, it was engrained in him.

The Garden of Sweets and Condrell's Candies were hot spots in the community for couples, who found sweets with their sweethearts in his candy shops. After dates at the movies, it was common to go to the Garden of Sweets for an ice cream sundae - with two spoons to share.

In the spring, the candy shop turned into an Easter haven and Nick became famous for his 3-foot Easter bunnies, crafted in the likeness of a rabbit and weighing an astonishing 75 pounds.

His shops were always geared toward the community, according to Anne, who said that many of his ice cream sundaes were named after the schools in the area. The Kenmore East and Kenmore West sundaes were popular.

Magnini can remember working in the store with her four siblings - helping out behind the counters by serving ice cream and making chocolate.

Nick now has nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

"There were so many people asking about my dad and how he was doing, I thought it would be nice to throw him the party," said Magnini. "Even though his birthday is in November, I did it now while the weather was nice."

More than 100 people flocked to the Magnini home in East Amherst for the party. Anne and two other siblings donned old-fashioned aprons and paper ice cream hats and served sweet goodness to the masses.

"We got into our old roles and served the ice cream. We also had tons of chocolates in the house - especially sponge candy," she said.

Nick is also heralded as the oldest man at Buffalo's Hellenic Orthodox Church.

He was very active in the church while he was younger, having devoted many hours of time to volunteering there.

e-mail: nprimerano@beenews.com