bobbie sellers wrote:
> "annead" wrote.
>
>> Hi all...
>>
>> I'm seriously considering opening a Chocolate Cafe -similar to
>> Starbucks - with a variety of hot and cold chocolate drinks with
>> pastries and some candy bar sales, etc. I haven't really seen anything
>> like this where I live (DC area) but know of several in Europe. What do
>> you think? Thanks for your comments!!
>>
>> Anne
>
> From what I have seen in San Francisco the concept has limited
> appeal. Combine the Chocolate Cafe with a Starbuckoid coffee shop
> and you might survive.
>
> Good luck. The Chocolat shops were sold to a cult and
> became a mail order business. I don't know what happened to them
> after that.
> The Chocolate Faery in the Castro went out of business and/or
> moved to another city in the Pacific Northwest.
> Two other quality chocolate shops in the city have gone down
> the tubes.
> A cafe featuring mainly chocolate dishes failed to prosper.
>
> Good chocolate is hard to sell to a nation raised on Hershey
> bars.
> Scharfen-Berger still has a chocolate cafe attached to their
> manufactury in Berkeley. Giradelli(sic) (Eagle brand) has a couple
> of chocolate shops selling their products in the tourist parts
> of San Francisco.
>

On the other hand, just a little south of SF, in Santa Cruz, is Richard
Donnelly Chocolates. Top notch chocolate, and it's nationally regarded
as possibly the best in the country. And they _seem_ to be doing well
(though, they're also expensive, but IMO, well worth it -- the absolute
best chocolate I've ever had).

http://www.donnellychocolates.com/ik...p?func=catalog

(though, going back to the point of this topic -- I don't think they do
any chocolate drinks)