For the Love of Chocolate

Sweet treats have kept the doors open at the Carytown candy store for 25 years

by

It was almost a furniture store.

When friends James Kinard and Brian Grygiel decided to open a retail venture more than 25 years ago, they were certain of one thing: “We wanted to be in Carytown no matter what,” Kinard says.

Seeking the unique, the pair settled on a chocolate shop, “the only thing that wasn’t in Carytown,” Kinard says. Now located in Cary Court, For the Love of Chocolate is still one of a kind, the only place in Richmond where a shopper can find more than 10,000 sweet treats throughout the year. Delicacies from 34 countries are displayed in 1,200 bins and cases, and on shelving stacked to the ceiling during busy seasons.

For co-founder Kinard, the reason for opening the store was simple: unemployment.

“I wanted a change in career,” he says.

What a change. Formerly a hospital administrator, Kinard has embraced being, as he puts it, a “purveyor,” not a maker, of confections.

“The whole idea was to provide the largest variety of candy in one place,” he says, noting that the business doesn’t offer online sales, shipping only for corporate clients’ bulk orders. Freshly baked cookies and brownies are available daily. Chocolate-dipped strawberries, top sellers at Valentine’s Day, are an option anytime by special request.

When the business first opened at Colonial and Cary streets in 1992, its holdings were exclusively chocolate. For a time, Kinard operated a sister store, The Candy Patch, next door to satisfy candy cravings. When the building housing both storefronts sold in 2005, the two businesses merged into the current Cary Court location. “That totally changed [things],” Kinard says.

Today, Kinard is the on-site store manager, attentive to customers’ arrivals and obvious need for direction in the jam-packed 1,000-square-foot space. He knows every product — because he’s selected each one — and knows what his customers want.

For example, British chocolate has the highest weekly turnover, purchased not only by Anglophiles (yes, there’s imported Cadbury) but also by those familiar with British brands from the Middle East. Second most popular is licorice, with 160 different varieties to choose from. Kinard also knows his customers don’t necessarily appreciate change. Now that one candy company has altered its recipe for maple nut goodies to extend shelf life, he warns people before purchase. “They don’t taste the same,” he says. “They’re not bad, just different.”

Of course, some change is good. No Whey Chocolate, a New Jersey company specializing in vegan products, “exploded” in its second year in the store, Kinard says. “We cannot keep it in stock,” he adds, attributing its popularity to the fact that it’s safe for a whole range of allergies: nut, dairy, etc.

Kinard also carries delicacies made by local candy makers, highlighting them in a section at the front of the store.

He says the grouping makes it easy for customers to find a variety of Virginia producers, including Gearharts Fine Chocolates, Taylor Made (from a former mayor of Hopewell), Superior Creamery & Confections, and Cardinal Chocolate, whose $1.49 bars are favorites for wedding gift bags.

An ongoing challenge for the business, Kinard says, is the industry-wide constriction that is removing favorite candy from shelves. He points to the recent announcement that the New England Confectionery Company, which has made Necco wafers since before the Civil War, may soon be out of business. Closures, as well as the absorption of mom-and-pop operations by larger corporations, mean people lose the candy they love.

Kinard works hard to keep the selection strong, from the tried and true to the new, and his efforts benefit his clients, says Valerie Kilby, the store’s sales representative from First Source, a national confections distributor.

“He’ll do whatever he can to help the customer,” Kilby says. “Other places have come and gone, but he talks with people; he gets what they need and want.”

On a spring day in May, for example, Kinard and Kilby were making plans for Halloween and Christmas. Kilby says she’s always happy to visit For the Love of Chocolate, which has become the largest independent customer First Source has in the state.

The goal, Kinard says, is to have a wide range of products and an equally expansive range of prices. He works with four different vendors so he can carry the full line of Lindt chocolate bars, plus Lindt from Switzerland, not just the U.S. manufacturer.  

Over the course of the shop’s history, the popularity of dark chocolate has increased, thanks to reports of health benefits. In recent years, salt and chili have become popular ingredients as well. On some level, Kinard says, it doesn’t matter what’s fashionable or in the news.

“People are passionate about what they like and don’t like,” he says. “There are things I carry that aren’t my taste, but they sell.”

For example, the chocolate-covered and candied insects: Crick-ettes (yes, crickets), ants suspended in hard candy and chocolate-dipped scorpions. “We go through a case a day of insects,” Kinard says, laughing.  

While Christmas and Easter are the busiest seasons, summer tourist traffic and regulars keep inventory moving. “One customer comes once a year and purchases $700 worth of candy bars — his yearly supply,” Kinard says.

Much easier to carry home than a load of furniture.