Albert Abdallah immigrated to the United States as a teenager from Lebanon and arrived in Minneapolis at the turn of the last century. He entered the confectionary business at a soda fountain in downtown Minneapolis, where he met Helen Trovall, the daughter of Swedish immigrants. After they married, they opened the Calhoun Candy Depot at 2924 Hennepin Avenue in the then-new Rainbow Building. The business prospered with the community, was renamed Abdallah Candy Company in 1916, and had a restaurant added by 1924. It emerged from the Depression at a new location nearer to Lake Calhoun, where take-away ice cream was introduced for beachgoers. Candy remained at the center of Albert's business, and in 2009 Abdallah Candies celebrated 100 years as a family business.