Chocolate shop sweetens up Mother's Day

BY LAURIE GORDON
NEWTON — Chocolate Parfait has some delicious treats on tap for Mother's Day including their hallmark chocolate shoe filled with chocolate truffles. If you want to give that wonderful mom in your life something sweet and special, this place has it all.
"We have been selling these for eight years but three years ago I made them with this design," said owner Tracey Williams. "It became my 'signature design' and ever since we created this design we have been selling them like hot cakes. We literally have customers that receive these as gifts and will eat the truffles inside the shoe but will not eat the actual shoe - they display it on their dresser because it's a showpiece."
For Mother's Day, May 8 this year, Chocolate Parfait has a wide range of gifts for mom which include: chocolate teapots, tea-time platters (Wil;liams is british and must include tea), chocolate purses, baskets filled with truffles, small flower pots filled with truffles, chocolate vases filled with chocolate flower lollipops, and of course the store's famous chocolate shoe with their signature design. They also offer chocolate-covered strawberries.
Located on Newton-Sparta Road, the business got its start in Lafayette when Williams purchased the store in 2008.
“It was already an existing candy store in the Olde Lafayette Village and had been there for over 20 years,” she said, “The original owner was looking to sell and at the time I was a real estate agent and saw that the business was for sale so I convinced my husband to take a look at it. He rolled his eyes and pretty much said 'what are you up to now' as I'm always into new adventures.”
The two went to see if the business had potential for them and Williams said she instantly fell in love with it. So much so, that she said she was pretty much ready to sign the paperwork then and there.
“After five years of being there, however, it was getting harder and harder to do business,” Williams said, “We were pretty much forced to move since the owners were in foreclosure and all the other businesses were either relocating or closing their businesses, as it was hard to survive there towards the end.”
Williams decided to move to her hometown of Andover, and Chocolate Parfait re-opened on Newton-Sparta Road.
“It was a little difficult at first because it takes time to get established and for people to catch on that you're there,” she said, “I've been a little more aggressive with my advertising and marketing over the past six months and it's really paid off. Plus Nagels Candy Barn has closed their doors to both their locations and I've gotten so, so many customers from that - they all found me online.” Williams added, “ I have to say the power of the internet, social media and facebook work very well for us. I'll post something on Facebook and there are times when a customer will literally come through the doors an hour later saying they saw the picture and coming to buy that particular item.”
As for the customer base: Everyone loves sweets.
“It's hard to pinpoint a certain demographic because we cater to all age groups,” Williams said, “From a young family that comes in for ice cream and sits outside in the outdoor seating area under the umbrellas to middle aged women that comes in for chocolate to elderly who come in for their fudge to teenagers who will choose from the 120 candy bins.”
Though Andover is home now, Williams was born and raised in England. Of this she said, “Because of this, I am accustomed to good quality European chocolate. Therefore it was extremely important to me to only provide top quality chocolate.”
Having a degree in business administration has given Williams the tools to become a successful entrepreneur, including marketing her business.
“My passion for chocolate confectionery coupled with a fascination of inventing new recipes and designs is extremely exciting to me,” she said. “I am truly infatuated with the art of chocolate making and being a self-taught chocolatier has given me the freedom to explore various recipes and creations that I have the pleasure in sharing with my customers.”
Get your orders in for mom:
Head to Chocolate Parfat, located at 227 Newton-Sparta Road, to see the array of Mother's Day goodies and every-day chocolates and confections. For Mother's Day, Williams recommends ordering ahead of time to guarantee the goods will be there on the special day. For information or to order, call (973) 579-2203 or visit www.chocolateparfaitnj.com
Various Mother's Day features at Chocolate Parfait