Animas Chocolate Company: TWO_POINT_ZERO

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Article #1 – the beginnings.

Since we first conceived ACC, our vision has always been to create a unique chocolate experience where quality and customer service were paramount, and the experience is unforgettable.  This is easy to conceptualize, not always easy to achieve–especially when you don’t have direct experience in the chocolate retail or production world.  We have spent the last 5 years, putting ourselves to “school” (so to speak) since opening ACC in the corner of the kitchen another local business; The Chip Peddler.  As we quickly outgrew that little nook and moved into a larger commercial kitchen and began selling our products at events, farmers markets and to individuals, we considered each moment a “class” in what to do (and what not to do).  In the late fall of 2013, when we moved to our current retail location at 2800 main avenue, we were excited for the next step of being able to provide a full retail chocolate experience to our customers.  However, the building we leased was small, very dated and in a state of disrepair.  While we were up to the challenge of bringing this old building into some sort of shape, there were some very serious limitations that were not feasible to amend.  The building itself is only 1300 square feet, with little to no insulation and a very dated electrical and plumbing system.  That being said, the price was right and it is located on one of the busiest thoroughfares in the area.  We decided to make a go of it, and it worked just fine for the first 2 years we were here, but we pretty quickly realized that the space severely limited our ability to grow and to create the type of atmosphere we envisioned.  So this series of posts will take you on our journey of taking ACC from the nice little chocolate shop we are now, to what we are so excited to become, and what we are calling ACC 2.0…