BY LINDA BACHRACK

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAN LIPPITT

y

ou could call him the Willy

Wonka of West Bloomfield.
Certainly, Alan Rosen, the
proprietor of Rocky Mountain
Chocolate Factory on The Boardwalk,
brings smiles to the faces of children
and adults who visit his candy and ice
cream shop.
Who doesn't love an old-fashioned
candy store? Chocolate-and-caramel-
dipped apples and marshmallows
beckon through the window; glass
canisters of Gummi Bears, licorice,
caramel corn, chocolate-covered pret-
zels and Jelly Bellies line the counter-
tops; and chocolate pecan bears (much
larger than the traditional turtles)

peek from behind the filled cases.
Rosen was looking to acquire his own
business after a long career in retail sales and
was in the right place at the right time to
snag the Rocky Mountain franchise at the
Somerset Collection in February 1999. He
opened the West Bloomfield location in July.
"I couldn't be having more fun,"
says Rosen. "It's a great product and
our customers leave happy. It's a place
that appeals to all the senses, especially
taste and smell."
Rosen admits he's a lifelong chocolate
lover. The joke in the family, however, is
that his wife, Phyllis, is a dentist. Phyllis
may not allow candy in her waiting room
but the two Rosen children visit the

Melt-in-your-mouth morsels fill the candy cases at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Right: Proprietor Alan Rosen is the big kid in the candy store.

1 6 • SEPTEMBER 2001 • STYLE AT THE JN

store often to indulge in their favorites.
"I'd like a plain caramel apple — the
kind I used to make," said one recent
customer who was craving a taste from
years past. "I heard your licorice was
the best," said another woman, refer-
ring to the Kookaburra licorice bites
from Australia. A Guernsey ice cream
devotee sneaked back into the store for
her second mint chocolate chip cone.
"One just wasn't enough," she said.
"The most important reason why I
bought the candy store was to see peo-
ple smile," says Rosen. And he guaran-
tees your face will light up as soon as
you see Truffles the bear, the store mas-
cot, grinning from the front window.