{"id":38171,"date":"2023-04-18T18:58:27","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T01:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/?p=38171"},"modified":"2025-05-18T10:56:37","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T17:56:37","slug":"new-homes-for-chocolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/ourchocolatiers\/new-homes-for-chocolate\/","title":{"rendered":"New homes for chocolate"},"content":{"rendered":"

COVID sucks. And it changed everything. One change that seemed bad at first \u2014 stores and offices closing as everyone who could moved their businesses online and remote \u2014 has been a boon for our local chocolatiers and chocolate makers who can now afford commercial space after years of ever-increasing rents squeezing them out of the market.<\/p>\n

In fact before COVID I had been thinking about doing an article on all the great SFBA chocolatiers who had left the area because of ridiculously high rents. Now things are looking up and instead I get to talk about all the new \u2014 and coming \u2014 chocolate places here.<\/p>\n

\"aL
aL chocoLat Boutique shop rendering<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW shop alert<\/h2>\n

September 2023: New South Bay chocolatier aL chocoLat Boutique<\/a><\/strong> just announced they will soon be moving into their own shop in San Jose\u2019s Willow Glen neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned for updates on aL chocoLat\u2019s new home.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: Xocolate Bar\u2019s second home is here<\/h2>\n

UPDATE September 2023: The Xocolate Bar has opened their second retail location at 5854 College Ave.<\/p>\n

\"Xocolate
Xocolate Bar\u2019s Rockridge storefront<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week I got an email from The Xocolate Bar<\/a><\/strong> announcing that they are running a\u00a0fundraiser for a second location. They did a reno of their Solano Ave. space in 2022 but they couldn\u2019t make it any bigger so now they plan to open a retail and fulfillment space in Oakland\u2019s Rockridge neighborhood if they can raise the $$$. They will keep the Solano Ave. location too \u2014 heck it probably still has that fresh paint smell \u2014 but having more space will make their working lives easier and their chocolate more accessible.<\/p>\n

\"Xocolate
The Xocolate Bar isn\u2019t moving from this location, just expanding<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That email nudged me to write this article about all the new chocolate spaces in SFBA since the March 2020 COVID lockdown. I also want to highlight a couple of places that are coming so you can watch for them. And finally I have one potential but pricy place with a chocolate pedigree that could be home to lots of chocolate if someone has deep pockets and chocolate vision.<\/p>\n

Opened since COVID lockdown<\/h2>\n

The first 2 chocolate spots that opened during the lockdown were already in the works beforehand and maybe suffered the most initially but they both seem to be thriving now.<\/p>\n

\"Jade's
Jade Chocolates\u2019 Chinatown location<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jade Chocolates<\/h3>\n

Veteran chocolatier\u00a0Jade Chocolates<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0has had a couple of retail locations before. (I still miss their Richmond District store<\/a> which I would visit on my 2x yearly dental appointments in my old neighborhood.) But owner Mindy Fong wanted to get a place in Chinatown to celebrate her roots (her great-grandfather had a tea house in the area) and promote this special place.<\/p>\n

She opened her shop on Grant Avenue 2 blocks from the Dragon Gate in July 2020. At first it was pickup only but now the store is open 5 days a week and the caf\u00e9 where Mindy hosts regular afternoon teas opened in 2022. (I celebrated my birthday there this year so I have a story about this new place<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\"Kokak
Kokak\u2019s factory store and cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kokak Chocolates<\/h3>\n

The other local chocolatier who opened a storefront in July 2020 is Carol Gancia. Her Kokak Chocolates<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on 18th St. in the Castro District is where she makes and sells chocolates. It\u2019s also a caf\u00e9 with chocolate drinks, pastries, and other treats.<\/p>\n

And she is not stopping there. Kokak announced in May 2022 that they were opening a second location in Japantown on Post St. There is no opening date announced yet but the space is more than 3x as big as the cute shop in the Castro.<\/p>\n

Michael\u2019s Chocolates<\/h3>\n

The one new location I have visited since the pandemic started is Michael\u2019s Chocolates<\/a>\"3-5<\/strong> on Grand Avenue in Oakland. Opened in 2021 in the space that was Michael Mischer<\/a>\u2019s shop until he retired, it\u2019s a factory store plus a caf\u00e9 and gelato shop.<\/p>\n

\"Michaels
Michael\u2019s Chocolates continues the tradition of fine chocolate in this location<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s a pleasant airy space with decorations by Michael\u2019s mom and echoes of the other Michael\u2019s setup. In addition to selling the whole Michael\u2019s Chocolates line they also have a section of other local products Michael endorses such as Marich Pancrafted Chocolates<\/a> <\/strong>and Raphio Chocolate<\/a>. <\/strong>Maybe best of all because it\u2019s the factory store of a very creative chocolatier, there are often limited edition items only available at the store of products Michael is working on.<\/p>\n

\"Fleur
Fleur Sauvage\u2019s storefront in Windsor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fleur Sauvage Chocolates<\/h3>\n

Up in Wine Country,\u00a0Fleur Sauvage Chocolates<\/a><\/strong> got their start selling their chocolates at local farmers markets and special events. They opened their first shop in December 2021 where they also host \u201cWine Country Tea Times\u201d (reservation only). The savory foods at the teas are supplied by local producers including some of Fleur Sauvage\u2019s fellow farmers market vendors. The sweet treats at the teas are of course made by Fleur Sauvage\u2019s award winning owner\/chef Robert \u201cButtercup\u201d Nieto.<\/p>\n

L\u2019Amourette Chocolatier<\/h3>\n

SF chocolate maker\/chocolatier\/confectioner\u00a0L\u2019Amourette Chocolatier<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0opened their first store in a former clothing boutique on Fillmore St. in SF\u2019s upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood in February 2022.<\/p>\n

\"L'Amourette
L\u2019Amourette\u2019s candy box storefront in Pacific Heights<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

L\u2019Amourette is known for their reasonably priced high quality chocolate. And while a lot of local markets carry L\u2019Amourette bars, the stores only carry some of the line. Now you can check out the whole line by visiting L\u2019Amourette\u2019s \u00a0cute little shop at 2412 Fillmore.<\/p>\n

Sweet55<\/h3>\n

Swiss trained chocolatier Ursula Schnyder of Half Moon Bay\u2019s\u00a0Sweet55<\/a><\/strong> opened a 2nd location in Palo Alto in 2022. In addition to their Swiss style chocolates, the Palo Alto store has coffee drinks and some baked goods from their original Half Moon Bay location.<\/p>\n

\"Sweet55
Sweet55\u2019s second location in Palo Alto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UPDATE: Shekoh Confections<\/h3>\n

UPDATE March 2025: Shekoh Confections has closed the 2 Palo Alto locations and moved to SF\u2019s Dogpatch neighborhood<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UPDATE September 2023: After a year in business Shekoh Confections has opening a second location in Palo Alto on University Ave<\/a>. It carries the same confections as the original location plus coffee drinks, Persian tea, and pastries, and has seating.<\/p>\n

French trained chef Shekoh Moossavi of Shekoh Confections<\/a><\/strong> opened her first shop in Palo Alto in 2022. You can buy custom boxes of her truffles online but if you visit the store, you can buy other treats including molded chocolates, marshmallows, and nougat.<\/p>\n

\"Shekoh<\/header>\n

 <\/p>\n

UPDATE: Chocolate counter in Berkeley<\/h2>\n

July 2023: Bean to bar maker Bisou Chocolate<\/a><\/strong> announced they have opened their first storefront on 9th St. in Berkeley. In addition to their range of single origin bars, they have expanded their wares to enrobed chocolates, drinking chocolate, and white chocolate. At the new space they sell their full line plus hot chocolate and cold brew cacao.<\/p>\n

Coming soon<\/h2>\n

Chocolate maker\/chocolatier\u00a0Rainy Day Chocolate<\/a><\/strong> is opening their first storefront in Forestville this year sometime. In addition to selling their chocolate bars, marshmallows, and award winning toffee in the store, they will have seating, classes, and tours. With a real commercial kitchen they also plan to expand their line of treats. Follow their progress on social media.<\/p>\n

Wish list<\/h2>\n

Finally there\u2019s a historic chocolate site on the market \u2014 all you need is a cool $5MM.<\/p>\n

The Hooper\u2019s Chocolates building in the Temescal district of Oakland is a 13,500+ sq. ft. building fronted by a distinctive pink and white Cape Cod style 2-story retail\/office space with commercial kitchen space and storage in the back.<\/p>\n

\"Hoopers
Hoopers Chocolates building on Telegraph in Oakland\u2019s Temescal district<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Hoopers bought the building from another chocolatier in 1950. Before that they had been making chocolates in their garage. (Their story seems similar to others in this article.) After the Hoopers died, the business went through several owners before finally closing in 2010. Since then the building has been mostly empty \u2014 it\u2019s available for sale or lease \u2014 but the monthly rent must be killer.<\/p>\n

The listing includes pix of the inside<\/a>, which show that the space would need considerable renovation. And while there\u2019s commercial kitchen space with hookups and floor drainage, it\u2019s bare space.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s a lotta space \u2014 could definitely fit more than a few chocolatiers inside. Just need the bucks and a vision… anyone listening?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A tasty silver lining to the pandemic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":38261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,15,884,222,14,41,1078],"tags":[408,1098,1541,97,1064,791,935,892,1518,943,1313],"class_list":["post-38171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-bay-chocolate","category-local-chocolate","category-north-bay","category-peninsula-chocolate","category-ourchocolatiers","category-san-francisco-chocolate","category-veteran-sfba-chocolatier","tag-bisou","tag-fleur-sauvage-chocolates","tag-hoopers-chocolates","tag-jade-chocolates","tag-kokak-chocolates","tag-lamourette-chocolatier","tag-michaels-chocolates","tag-rainy-day-chocolate","tag-shekoh-confections","tag-sweet55","tag-the-xocolate-bar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38171"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45681,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38171\/revisions\/45681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}