From Balance Sheets to Bon Bons: The Chocolate Shell...“The Sweetest Shoppe in Town”

10From Balance Sheets to Bon Bons:

The Chocolate Shell...“The Sweetest Shoppe in Town”

by RONA MANN / Photos by Stephanie Sittnick

11

It’s a funny thing about bookkeepers.

You think of them as being very rigid and exacting human beings, humorless perhaps, often associating them with the painstaking work in which they are engaged. That stereotype might fit some, but it most definitely does not fit Barbara Crowley.

Crowley was, by her own admission, “born and raised in Livingston, New Jersey. I didn’t think I’d ever leave Livingston.” But then her husband’s job necessitated a move to Connecticut, and the Jersey girl who had toiled over ledgers, profit and loss statements, and receivables and payables found herself in Old Lyme, one of the most beautiful towns on the shoreline.

“I used to frequent The Chocolate Shell as a regular customer,” Crowley begins, “then one day in February of 2011 as I was leaving, I saw

a sign in the window that said, ‘For sale.’” The thought of owning a chocolate shop stopped her dead in her tracks, so she went back in.

Had Crowley any experience with chocolate other than from a gustatory bent? Had she taken classes, explored the marketing of same, or known anything about a candy store before contemplating the purchase? “Well, when I was a kid growing up in Livingston, we walked everywhere, not like today. And back then, one of our favorite places to walk was Russell’s

Candy Store where they had a counter, candy in the jar, penny candy. I loved it.”

No doubt hearing about this long ago shuttered shop, may bring up some memories of your own, and that’s precisely what Barbara Crowley set out to do when she purchased The Chocolate Shell. “For me, candy equals

Owner Barbara Crowley

memories. It’s all about memories, and everybody’s is different, so we try with every customer to make their purchase a memory.”

Crowley may not have known anything about running a chocolate shop, but her bookkeeping background afforded her good business sense. Wisely, Crowley never changed the name of the popular venue when she bought it because

12

much as you want – different kinds of chocolates – we carry 50 different lines - different candies, all price points.”

for 38 years it had been a beloved part of the landscape of Old Lyme, a go-to for everyone from school children with change in their pockets to corporate gift buying – and everything in between. And everything in between is what The Chocolate Shell displays to fuel those memories and make new ones.

“The best thing about this store is that you can make up your own candy box,” Crowley says. “And by doing so, you can mix and match as

At The Chocolate Shell, price points are widely varied and run the gamut from penny candy to $65. per lb. renowned Neuhaus Belgian Chocolates, since 1857 one of the world’s finest confections and inventor of the praline. If $65. is too steep for your budget, Barbara can sell you just one piece, if that’s what will put a smile on your face. That’s the beauty of The Chocolate Shell’s build your own box. You can mix a couple of pieces of Neuhaus Chocolates right in with the candy bars of your youth, vegan chocolates, nut-free chocolates, artisanal chocolates from all over the world, even dairy free chocolates. This delightful emporium has it all, and Barbara and her smiling assistants, Jenna and Bren, are delighted to fill any request.

Especially important to Crowley are the school

children who are joyously welcomed any time they come in. She even has a special section of “old fashioned favorites” and fun size bars geared to their enjoyment, but finds it’s also a big draw for those “big kids” who remember Clark Bars, button candy, Zagnut Bars, Mallo Cups, candy necklaces, and the like.

Open the door to this happy place, and instantly your senses are assaulted with well thought-out displays that feature the candy without overwhelming the customer. Next you are seduced by a delicious smell that tells you the most difficult thing you’ll have to do all day is choose. But that’s precisely why Barbara wants you to handpick what appeals, then she’ll make up an attractive box. “It’s like a puzzle to us to take all the pieces they choose and then put them together, making the box look good.”

If you’re in a rush, or you’d prefer, you can purchase boxes already designed, for always the experience is first and foremost about you...your preferences, your taste, your budget, and your memories.

Boxes may be as small as a four-count treat of bonbons or truffles, or run the gamut to a quarter pound, half pound, full pound...and if you’re entertaining, a two pound box of what-

13

handpick, transformed into beautiful assortments for everyone on your list. Barbara and her crew will even mail those boxes wherever in the world you’d like..and where in the world have their chocolates traveled? Check out the map on the wall; there’s a push pin in every continent and many states, so why not add yours?

Perhaps it’s not a funny thing about bookkeepers, after all. They know business, they know budgets, and they know that success only happens when you continuously make people happy. To do that, you have to have a lot of chocolate, a healthy dose of happiness every day, and maybe be just a little nuts.

ever catches your fancy and that of the people you are gifting. “Receivers always seem to love that their box was hand picked by the giver,” Barbara adds.

Crowley religiously keeps abreast of what the industry is doing by attending chocolate shows, food shows, and the granddaddy of them all, the annual Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center in New York City.

The Chocolate Shell is very proud to be one of the very few retail locations of the famous Saybrook Toffee, a delicacy crafted in small batches and lusted after by those on the shoreline and others who have experienced their flavors. “It’s so much fun to bring people what they love, what they remember,” Crowley says with a smile. “I have a woman who was stationed more than 40 years ago in England and remembered a special candy she

could only get at Selfridge’s Department store. She had been missing it and wanting it for years, and we found it for her because we are totally customer oriented and will go out of our way for them. That woman now comes in every couple of days for her special treat. It’s just another reason this is such a happy place.”

Crowley has only owned The Chocolate Shell for eight years, but has enjoyed watching the children who patronize the store grow up. “When I first bought the store I had a young girl who would come in here regularly who was in middle school. Now she works for me!”

With Valentine’s Day just days away, The Chocolate Shell is fully stocked with anything and everything….white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate…hearts, chocolate covered nuts, old time candy in beautiful tall glass jars, assortments, s’mores; and of course their specialty, the chocolates you

The Chocolate Shell is at 16B Lyme Street in Old Lyme www.thechocolateshell.com (860) 434-9727