Greek-Panamanian entrepreneur Antonio “Toño” Androutsos has opened a new immersive chocolate and coffee destination in Panama, where visitors can watch cacao become chocolate, see coffee roasted in front of them and taste two of the country’s signature products at their source.
Called Toño’s Factory, the new venue in Corozal, near the Panama Canal, combines a working chocolate factory, coffee roastery, café and visitor experience under one roof.
It is the latest venture from Androutsos, a Greek immigrant who has spent more than three decades building businesses in Panama’s hospitality industry and who has become closely associated with the country’s food scene.
“Toño’s Factory is an immersive coffee and chocolate experience,” Androutsos told Telemetro Panama during the Factory’s official opening on October 2. “Both are products of Panamanian origin.”
The concept is designed around showing visitors not only what Panamanian cacao and coffee taste like, but where they come from and what happens before they reach the table.
“The cacao comes from Bocas del Toro, and the coffee comes from the highlands, particularly Volcán, where we have our Barú Black Mountain farm,” Androutsos said.
A chocolate factory built around the experience
At Toño’s Factory, the production process is part of the attraction.
Visitors can follow cacao as it is transformed into chocolate while, on the coffee side, they can watch beans being roasted and learn how the finished cup develops from the raw product.
“It is a unique immersive experience, I would say, because you can come and enjoy a good coffee, a good chocolate,” Androutsos said. Visitors can also take part in tastings and learn about coffee, chocolate and cacao, he added.
“It is a processing plant at the same time, for cacao and coffee,” he said. “In the end, it is a multi-concept that brings together these two flagship products of Panama.”
The venue puts particular emphasis on local origin. Androutsos said the cacao and coffee used at the factory are Panamanian products, creating a direct connection between agriculture, processing and the final experience.
The location adds another layer to that story.
Toño’s Factory sits beside the historic transoceanic railway station in Corozal, in a part of Panama closely linked to the transport corridor that has shaped the country for generations.
That history also intersects with the story of Greek immigration. Greeks began arriving in Panama in significant numbers during the era of Panama Canal construction, eventually establishing a community whose influence extended into business, shipping, politics and food.
From Greek immigrant to Panama hospitality entrepreneur
The new factory is another chapter in Androutsos’ long career in his adopted country.
He arrived in Panama as an immigrant and gradually built a presence in its restaurant and hospitality industry, developing businesses that drew on both his Greek heritage and his understanding of Panamanian tastes.
Greek Reporter previously profiled Androutsos and his decades-long career in Panama’s hospitality industry, including the development of Toño’s Café Bakery.
The café became a platform for Androutsos’ growing interest in Panamanian specialty coffee. Toño’s Factory takes that idea further by allowing customers to see the production process rather than encountering only the finished drink.
Chocolate now becomes part of that same journey.
Instead of simply offering cacao as a finished bar or dessert, the factory allows visitors to understand how it moves through the different stages of production.
Why Panamanian cacao matters
Androutsos says increasing interest in cacao helped inspire the new concept.
“The idea comes from everything that is happening with coffee in Panama, especially,” he told Telemetro. “Now there has also been considerable interest in cacao.”
He described Panamanian cacao as a fine cacao that is “very special” and “very aromatic.”
Panama is already internationally known for specialty coffee, particularly beans grown in the highlands around Volcán Barú. Androutsos believes cacao has the potential to attract similar attention.
The factory therefore presents the two products together rather than treating them as separate worlds. Visitors can learn about their origins, watch them being processed and then taste the results in the same location.
For Androutsos, the educational component is important not only for international visitors but also for Panamanians. He said the growth of tourism in the country creates an opportunity for local people to learn more about products grown at home.
It is “a good initiative so that locals, Panamanians too, can see everything about the product, learn about its origin and enjoy it,” he said.
Everything “from the farm to the table”
Traceability is at the heart of the concept.
“What characterizes us is traceability, the origin,” Androutsos said. “Everything comes from the farm to the table, and it can be verified. Here we show how it arrives and how it is enjoyed at the table.”
That farm-to-table philosophy gives Toño’s Factory a purpose beyond creating another café or tourist stop. Androutsos wants visitors to understand the chain of people and processes behind something as familiar as a cup of coffee or a piece of chocolate.
“I think what has to be highlighted is the value chain,” he said.
He pointed to the farmers and collaborators producing cacao in Bocas del Toro and coffee around Volcán as an essential part of the story. “That is what has to be highlighted most—the human work behind the product and how difficult it is to harvest and process it to have something so incredible, so spectacular on the table.”
Celebrating Panama through coffee and cacao
Although Androutsos’ roots are Greek, Toño’s Factory is firmly centered on Panama. The cacao is Panamanian. The coffee is Panamanian. The visitor experience is built around explaining the country’s agricultural products to both local and international guests.
It reflects a broader evolution in Androutsos’ career.
His earlier businesses helped make Greek and Mediterranean food part of Panama’s restaurant culture. Greek Reporter has previously documented the influence of the Greek community on life in Panama, including Androutsos’ observation that Panamanians have become so familiar with Greek cuisine that many can comfortably pronounce names such as taramosalata and galaktoboureko.
With Toño’s Factory, the exchange moves in another direction: a Greek-Panamanian entrepreneur is using decades of hospitality experience to showcase Panama’s own products.
That is also part of a wider Greek story in the country. Greeks have lived in Panama since the nineteenth century, and successive generations have become deeply integrated into Panamanian society while maintaining ties to their heritage.
At Toño’s Factory Visitors see the process for themselves
The central attraction at Toño’s Factory is that production does not happen out of sight. Visitors can see coffee being roasted while cacao is transformed into chocolate during the same visit.
The venue offers an immersive gastronomic experience where people can witness both processes in a single tour. Guests can book dedicated coffee or chocolate experiences, but the café itself remains open to visitors who simply want to eat, drink coffee or enjoy chocolate.
“You can book the coffee or chocolate experience through our social networks,” Androutsos said. “But you can also come at any time, from seven in the morning until nine at night, every day, to enjoy good food, good coffee and good chocolate at the table.”
That combination makes the venue part working factory, part café, part classroom and part tourism experience. Rather than hiding production behind the finished product, Toño’s Factory makes it visible.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
