Blog Neglect

Wow. We’ve got some serious Blog Neglect going on… It’s been really too long since we’ve posted.

That being said, we are making a commitment that we are going to be much better bloggers from this point going forward.

We have reached some serious milestones in this fantastic ride of cafe ownership, and now have some time freed up where we can blog on and on and on till the breaka’ breaka’ dawn.

Craig and Ange

Inaugural Ladies Night

MilkYou gathered, you gossiped, and we poured frosty glasses of milk “on the house.” (Although The Chocolate is built in an old house, we didn’t literally pour milk on it.) We gave you the milk for free, gratis, sans charge. And it’s now part of what makes Ladies Night, um, Ladies Night.

For those of you who joined us last night for our maiden voyage, we appreciate you. We hoped the response would be fantastic and it surely was.We hope you had a laughy time with your girlfriends. And we can’t wait to see you next Wednesday. Same time, same place. Rock it.

FAQ’s Written by The Husband

A lot of our friends here on the Blogolate have been with us since the “Cupcake Cart” days, and a few others got to know us at the Thanksgiving Point Farmer’s Market in Lehi. Fewer still know us from the days of Ange baking cookies and cupcakes in our home kitchen for orders all over the valley.  But at almost every   phase of our growth, we have been asked some recurring questions. So, I’ve decided to compose a little FAQ’s:

How long have you guys been around? Well, the official corporation, The Chocolate, was founded in January 2008.  But the venture began about a year before that.  In fact, I remember a specific incident when she was tinkering with her “Brooklyn Blackout” recipe and brought it into my work so some of my coworkers could sample and give feedback. A British co-worker kept taking savory little bites and remarking “that’s good sponge”, in his thick British accent. We still to this day try to mimic that accent when we’re eating “good sponge”.

Where were you guys before you had the cafe? Weren’t you in the mall? Ange started production in early 2007 in our home kitchen, using a good ol’ General Electric gas oven, and a Kitchenaid mixer. As demand started to pick up, we outgrew the kitchen and had to build a commercial kitchen as an addition to our house. That happened in November, 2008. It had its own separate entrance, all stainless-steel appliances, and we jumped through all the hoops to get it commercially licensed and everything.

We were then ready to handle a much greater level of production, so instead of opening a storefront (which we wanted to and were inches from inking a deal in Draper), we decided to build the business more conservatively and rent a Kiosk at University Mall. This opened up all kinds of doors, and is really when our brand started to become  recognizable. Our brand manager has done a fantastic job of this. Good thing we’ve had great consultants along the way. From there, Nordstrom started carrying our items and then we did the Thanksgiving Point Farmer’s Market. After that, we set our sites on our storefront.

Whose idea was  The Chocolate? The Chocolate is 100% Ange’s idea.  About 3 years ago, after we had been married for just a few months, Ange and I had what we now view as a life-changing conversation. She felt like she didn’t have “her thing” that she was passionate about. She had to give up going back to work in Washington DC in order to stay here and marry me (I’ve met some of those boring DC guys, she got the better end of the deal :P), her friends were all up in Salt Lake County, or California, or Arizona. So here she is, married to this guy in Lehi, Utah, who is from Highland, Utah, and who has no intention of ever living anywhere else.  I had my great sales job I was passionate about, but she didn’t have “her thing.”

So we sat down and discussed it, and I asked what she’d do if she could do anything? It took only moments for her to respond with “I’d bake.” For her whole life, she has wanted to be a baker. After a few more days, she shared her vision with what The Chocolate would be named and the type of experience it would be. So my reaction was, “Let’s do it!” and the process began.

I then watched Ange study magazines, books, and everything she could find about chocolate desserts, pastries, and other fine desserts.  She was on fire. She got a job at a bakery to refine her skills, she took classes in Utah and New York, and was instructed by some of the finest instructors in the country. We did cross country trips for research.

We have faced more than a few setbacks or roadblocks along the way, but she has remained focused and determined to fulfill this dream and see the cafe become a reality. Now, here we are, the cafe has been open for about 6 weeks. People are coming to the cafe and having FUN, just like we envisioned all along. It’s mind boggling sometimes that “her thing,” this dream she has, has so perfectly come together.

So this ends part 1 of my FAQ’s. If people start asking more frequent questions, I suppose I can put in a part 2.

Craig (The Husband)

the husband

Another Benchmark: An Open Sign

We passed another milestone this week by finally investing in a flashing LED sign. It’s part roadside cafe, part Ye Olde Vegas, and part awesome. And I couldn’t be happier about it! I know, it’s random to get this jazzed about an open sign.  But it’s yet another little step of business ownership that makes me feel all official and excited.  Then again, that’s  been the mission of The Chocolate all along…to provide a venue for people to celebrate–no matter what the reason. open sign

Cake is the symbol of life’s celebrations

chocolate slice

We had a pretty fantastic experience last Friday that I want to share with all our friends here on The Blogolate.

On our way to the movies, we had to run by the cafe to pick something up. We pulled into the parking lot and every spot was taken…which of course, is a great sight for any new business owner. But inside was what was really exciting. There were groups of people in each of our 3 dining rooms, taking every available spot on the sofas, chairs, and tables. And it wasn’t just that. The atmosphere was relaxed, happy, and celebratory. People were talking, laughing, and lounging. Apparently it had been that way for the past few hours.

Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but this is EXACTLY the vision we have had when we starting dreaming up The Chocolate almost 3 years ago. We always wanted it to be somewhere you could easily go as a less-expensive alternative to dinner, and a more comfortable option than the crowded ice cream joints with metal chairs scraping along the tile floor.

Friday was almost emotional for me because for the first time, I saw in the cafe what I had always envisioned in my mind. And that’s worth celebrating. So I’ll probably eat some more cake myself. :)

So come celebrate with us!

Choco-Choice o’ The Week


               The Velvet



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