Chocolate and coffee shop opens Downtown

By Ashley Luthans

A new shop on Frederick Avenue is catering to the chocolate lovers and coffee connoisseurs of St. Joseph.

Chocolat, located at 1207 Frederick Ave., specializes in coffee, pastries and, of course, chocolate. The shop had its soft opening on Saturday, Aug. 17.

Chocolat was created by owner of Cafe Belle Epoque, Diana Hartzler, but she said that it was a team effort.

“One of the best things that I have found in owning Belle Epoque is the great people that I get to work with,” Hartzler said. “And they’re all so very incredibly creative and when I said, ‘Hey let’s open a chocolate shop,’ they were all so excited to be involved. And we’ve come over here and painted and decorated, and it is like a product of the staff.”

Hartzler has been making chocolates for about five years but just recently found the space to sell them. Hartzler explained more about the types of chocolate she sells.

“They’re all hand-rolled, hand-dipped ganaches,” Hartzler said. “They all have a little bit of alcohol in them. So the fun flavors that you get from the alcohol like a whiskey or a cognac, you can get that flavor. But the alcohol also adds a silkiness to the texture of the chocolate. So, it’s not your children’s chocolate, it’s got really good flavors.”

Chocolat is open each day from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.