Chocolate lovers of the North Fork, get ready to celebrate: the Hampton Chocolate Factory is opening a shop on Main Street in the heart of Greenport Village just in time for summer.
Co-owner Caroline Gappelberg can’t keep the excitement out of her voice when she talks about the village.
“Greenport is an amazing, thriving, exploding town and we wanted to be a part of it,” she says, speaking for herself and husband Evan.
The couple created Hampton Chocolate Factory three years ago after the death of Caroline’s father, with whom she shared a close relationship.
“I told my husband that I needed to rechannel my energy after losing my dad, and that’s when we started the company. The logo is a tribute to my father; it has a red diamond at the top because he loved to wear red and he loved diamonds.”
For three years, Caroline went door-to-door selling her chocolates to hotels, retail shops and vineyards. With her background in merchandising and marketing and her husband’s in business, the couple decided to open their flagship store in Westhampton Beach last May and on the heels of their success with that venture, will open their second shop in Greenport.
Hampton Chocolate Company makes all-natural, preservative-free, handcrafted artisanal chocolates at their factory in Brooklyn. They collaborate with top chocolatiers and pastry chefs to create a variety of chocolates, including a velvety-smooth dark chocolate that is, according to Gappelberg, “over the top delicious and not at all bitter.”
As in their flagship store, the Greenport location will sell chocolates by the piece, with samples available daily. Some of the unique treats they offer are PB&J bars, dark chocolate raspberry truffles and Key lime caramels. They will also have a s’mores bar where customers can enjoy their own campfire inspired concoctions of chocolate, cookie and toasted marshmallow and will offer artisanal ice cream sandwiches dipped in chocolate.
In addition to selling chocolates, hostess gifts and platters at the shop, Gappelberg will go on location to present chocolate parties for private events. In the off-season she plans to host birthday parties and corporate meetings at the shop, as she does in her Westhampton Beach location.
The store is located at 117 Main Street in Greenport and is planning to open in time for Memorial Day weekend and stay open year-round.
