business
Bittersweet Sendoff
Gayle’s Chocolates to relocate to Arizona after 34 years in Royal Oak.
ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
F
or decades, chocolatier Gayle
Harte has made many occasions
sweeter from weddings to bar/bat
mitzvahs to holiday celebrations and
more. So, it’s no surprise that she’s doing
something sweet for friends and fans to
soften the blow of her
departure after 34 years
in Royal Oak.
Harte, 70, and her
husband are relocat-
ing to Arizona, and she
will close her Royal Oak
retail store on South
Washington Avenue
Gayle Harte
next month. Before she
goes, she’s giving away
free chocolate — boxes
of her original four-piece truffles — to
the first 100 customers who visit the
store on her birthday, Saturday, April 21.
“I want to thank everyone who has
helped make Gayle’s such a great suc-
cess,” Harte says. “It’s a fun business.
We’ve had the privilege of marking so
many different holidays, milestones and
happy occasions over the years.”
A single mother at the time, Harte
started her business in 1979 with one
saucepan on one stove in Huntington
Woods. The home-based chocolate-
making operation grew and, in 1984, she
moved production to Royal Oak. The
retail shop opened on the first floor of
the building the day before Valentine’s
Day in 1985. Gayle’s was the first to serve
espresso in Royal Oak; the chocolate
shop opened before the downtown area
was bustling.
“I’ve been in Royal Oak for a long, long
time. This is home. But, it’s time for me
to start a new chapter in my life,” Harte
says. “Looking back, these 34 years have
flown by so fast because I truly love what
I do. I’m incredibly thankful to all of the
employees and customers who have
come through our doors.”
Known as the place to find chocolate
high-heeled shoes, a “stuffed” chocolate
turkey you can smash on Thanksgiving,
and more than 4,000 creative and color-
ful designs, Gayle’s still uses its original
recipes and fresh, locally sourced ingre-
dients.
A 1991 Detroit Jewish News article in
the William Davidson Archive of Jewish
Detroit History reveals how Harte added
kosher-parve chocolates to her candy
collection.
“I researched different kinds of choco-
late and found a premium brand that
was approved by the rabbis,” she said.
After the Council of Orthodox Rabbis
authorized her as a kosher chef, Harte
started making the kosher treats in a
separate kosher kitchen. Custom orders
also helped her business grow, including
a big national project to mark the year
2000. Neiman Marcus sold a chocolate
clock box made by Gayle’s filled with
chocolate versions of some of mankind’s
greatest inventions — including a space-
ship, a telephone and a frozen TV dinner.
The clocks were featured in the depart-
ment store’s catalogue and sold out
nationwide.
“I’m lucky to have a job I love,” Gayle
says. “I don’t know where the time has
gone.”
The good news for Gayle’s fans? She’s
taking her chocolate-making operation
with her when she moves, meaning cus-
tomers will still be able to purchase their
favorite artisanal chocolate, truffles and
more at
gayleschocolates.com and in a retail
store she will open in Cottonwood, Ariz.
Gayle’s is expected to close its Royal
Oak store after Mother’s Day, Sunday,
May 13. Furniture, fixtures, ribbon, pack-
aging and molds will be sold that week-
end. •
For more information, visit gayleschocolates.com,
call (248) 398-0001, or stop by the retail store at
417 S. Washington Ave. in Royal Oak.
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April 12 • 2018
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