ST. LOUIS — People all over the country this week will be able to see what makes Crown Candy Kitchen a staple in St. Louis.
The 107-year-old family-owned restaurant was recently featured on “Restaurant Recovery”, which was exclusively streamed on Discovery+. But recently, the show was picked up by the Cooking Channel, making it visible in households across the country.
Crown Candy’s episode, called “Nelly to the Rescue”, will air on TV for the first time this Tuesday, June 8 at 7 p.m. St. Louis time. It will re-air four hours later at 11 p.m.
“Restaurant Recovery” was developed by Todd Graves, the founder and CEO of Raising Canes. Graves said his restaurants have seen a boost in business since the beginning of the pandemic, so he wanted to find a way to pay it forward. The 10-episode show features 20 restaurants across the U.S. that each received $100,000 worth of improvements and funds to help make it through the challenges brought on by COVID-19-related changes and closures.
“Todd is truly our guardian angel,” Crown Candy owner Andy Karandzieff said in the trailer for the show.
The show also features some famous faces. While in St. Louis, Graves brought in recording artist and St. Louis native Nelly to help boost sales.
This is the second pandemic Crown Candy has experienced in its 107-year history.
"It is our second pandemic but my grandfather never left me a note on how to survive a pandemic so we're kind of winging it," owner Andy Karandzieff said in a September interview.
Customers came by the thousands after the restaurant made a plea for business in September, but the pandemic did not relent.
In January, Crown Candy also got some help from another St. Louis favorite, Steve's Hot Dogs. When Crown Candy had to close its doors, Steve's offered a BLT dog featuring bacon from Crown Candy, with 50% of every BLT dog being donated to Crown Candy.
In the few days that the dog was offered, Steve's raised about $1,500 for Crown Candy.
If you would like to see the renovations at Crown Candy for yourself and support the century-old restaurant, they are open from 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Saturday at 1401 St. Louis Avenue.