Monday, June 15, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
MAIN STREET FLIPS OUT
I3
New chocolate shop
opens on Main Street
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C
Th
House
year r
which
openin
succes,
The
assorts
and co
and a
p.m.,d
people
Molna
rillon Chocolates "We're going to sell most of the
same stuff, just higher quality,"
replaces the Molnar said, adding that he plans
to make most of the products in
hocolate House the store, unlike The Chocolate
House.
By JASMINE ZHU "Our equipment here is limited
Daily News Editor to how much we can make here,
but our goal is to make 90 percent
e much-beloved Chocolate of what we sell here ourselves - in
of Ann Arbor ended its six- terms of chocolate," Molnar said.
un on Main Street Friday, "Some pointinthe future, we might
was marked by the grand try to-make our own ice cream."
ig of its chocolate-oriented But Molnar said that one of the
sor, Carillon Chocolates. main reasons he opened the store
event, which featured an was because of family history, in
ment of free dessert samples addition to its ideal location in the
ffee from 9 a.m. to midnight heart of downtown Ann Arbor.
live band from 7 p.m. to 10 Molnar is a nephew of the store's
drew a crowd of about 300 previous owners and had worked
according to Owner Alex at The Chocolate House while it
r. was still in operation over a year
just wasn't profitable for them to
work 50 hours a week."
Molnar said another factor in
his decision to open the store was
its ideal location in the heart of
downtown Ann Arbor.
He added that his store is dif-
ferent from other dessert stores in
the city offering similar products
because Carillon Chocolates is
"the only independent chocolate
shop reigning in Ann Arbor."
"I know Kilwin's is Ann Arbor-
based, but they have chains up in
Florida," he said.
Molnar added that his store
also boasts a quaint charm that's
unique to Ann Arbor.
"The Rocky Mountain Choco-
late Factory - it's a nice store -
but all the floors are white and
corporately designed."
Molnar said he thinks his store
has an edge over his competitors
and "can tailor products and the
atmosphere of the store to local
tastes."
"The goal is to be more focused
on the local community and be an
Ann Arbor institution," Molnar
said, adding that the client-base is
geared toward the people residing
in Ann Arbor.
By catering to young profes-
sionals, students and locals, Mol-
nar said he hopes tourists will be
attracted to his business.
"We really want to focus on
these locals," Molnar said. "If we
cater to locals, the out-of-towners
are going to come."
James "Uncle Jimmi" Lee aes a crowd with a bike flip on Main Street Friday during
the city's fourth annual Bike test.
"We'd been planning on a grand
opening for a while, but it seemed
like a good time to have it," Mol-
nar said. He added that he did not
plan the date of the grand open-
ing to coincide with Mayor John
Hieftje's Green Fair and the Bike
Fest - two events that also took
place on Main Street on Friday.
Though the Chocolate House
now boasts a new name, Molnar
said he plans to maintain many
of the same sweet selections, spe-
cializing in chocolates, coffee and
ice cream.
Molnar said that the differ-
ence between his store and the
previous store is the quality of the
products.
'ago.
"Working here, I saw a lot of
room for improvement," Molnar
said, referencing how he designed
three different categories of pric-
ing for chocolates. He said that
the previous owners used to price
chocolates at varied prices, which
made weighing and pricing them a
very time-consuming process.
He added that his aunt and
uncle were unable to maintain the
store because of their other jobs.
"Even though (the previous
owners) liked running the shop,
and they were sad to sell it, it
became more and more work than
their other jobs, especially with
the recession," Molnar said. "It
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