Gearharts Fine Chocolates sells a variety of chocolate products. The company is planning to open a new local store in February. (Photos courtesy Gearharts Fine Chocolates)
After closing its lone Richmond-area store in early 2023, a Charlottesville chocolatier expects to be back in action locally next month.
Gearharts Fine Chocolates plans to open a new local outpost in the Short Pump Station shopping center at 11301 W. Broad St. in early February, just in time for the Valentine’s Day-inspired rush for chocolate gifts.
The new Short Pump store comes about a year after Gearharts shuttered its former location at 306 Libbie Ave., where it operated for more than a decade.
In addition to being a chocolate shop, the upcoming Gearharts also will feature a dessert cafe similar to the one found at the company’s Charlottesville location, which co-owner Tim Gearhart said has been a popular feature since it was introduced there about seven years ago.
“We came up with eight to 10 core products: The most decadent chocolate brownie in town, a really great flourless chocolate torte. It’s a little over the top on purpose. That’s proven to be a real winner (in Charlottesville),” Gearhart said.
The Short Pump cafe will feature a menu of cookies, cake, pastries, coffee and hot chocolate. The cafe is anticipated to have indoor seating for 18 people. Retail offerings will include the company’s 16-piece assorted chocolates box, which Gearhart described as the business’s bread and butter, in addition to other products.
Tim Gearhart
Gearhart, who founded the company with co-owner Bill Hamilton in 2001, said the pause on a physical presence in the Richmond market was implemented in order to scout out a larger Richmond-area space that could accommodate a sit-down cafe. Gearhart said the dessert cafe concept brings a new dynamic to the company’s local operation that he hopes will make the business a bigger draw.
“They’re a lot of players who have come up over the years and there’s a lot of competition. We’re able to keep it fresh and have not forgotten what set us apart in 2001. I think we have a real knack for reading the room and finding what people want,” Gearhart said.
Gearharts makes its chocolates in Charlottesville. The Short Pump location will make its own pastries and a few chocolate products, though the majority of the company’s production will continue to take place in Charlottesville.
The company’s chocolates are available in about 75 stores, most of them in Virginia in addition to stores in D.C. and Maryland, Gearhart said.
Gearharts has taken over a 1,400-square-foot space in Short Pump Station, which is about twice as large as the chocolate store’s old spot on Libbie Avenue.
The Gearharts space in the Trader Joe’s-anchored shopping center is next to Five Below and was formerly occupied by Frostings Bake Shop, which was recently purchased by Lindsey Food Group and has relocated to 4336 Pouncey Tract Road.
Gearharts plots its reentry to the Richmond market just as Kline’s Dairy Bar, another sweets seller also based in the western part of Virginia, plans its own expansion into the local area with a Chesterfield ice cream store.
Gearharts Fine Chocolates sells a variety of chocolate products. The company is planning to open a new local store in February. (Photos courtesy Gearharts Fine Chocolates)
After closing its lone Richmond-area store in early 2023, a Charlottesville chocolatier expects to be back in action locally next month.
Gearharts Fine Chocolates plans to open a new local outpost in the Short Pump Station shopping center at 11301 W. Broad St. in early February, just in time for the Valentine’s Day-inspired rush for chocolate gifts.
The new Short Pump store comes about a year after Gearharts shuttered its former location at 306 Libbie Ave., where it operated for more than a decade.
In addition to being a chocolate shop, the upcoming Gearharts also will feature a dessert cafe similar to the one found at the company’s Charlottesville location, which co-owner Tim Gearhart said has been a popular feature since it was introduced there about seven years ago.
“We came up with eight to 10 core products: The most decadent chocolate brownie in town, a really great flourless chocolate torte. It’s a little over the top on purpose. That’s proven to be a real winner (in Charlottesville),” Gearhart said.
The Short Pump cafe will feature a menu of cookies, cake, pastries, coffee and hot chocolate. The cafe is anticipated to have indoor seating for 18 people. Retail offerings will include the company’s 16-piece assorted chocolates box, which Gearhart described as the business’s bread and butter, in addition to other products.
Tim Gearhart
Gearhart, who founded the company with co-owner Bill Hamilton in 2001, said the pause on a physical presence in the Richmond market was implemented in order to scout out a larger Richmond-area space that could accommodate a sit-down cafe. Gearhart said the dessert cafe concept brings a new dynamic to the company’s local operation that he hopes will make the business a bigger draw.
“They’re a lot of players who have come up over the years and there’s a lot of competition. We’re able to keep it fresh and have not forgotten what set us apart in 2001. I think we have a real knack for reading the room and finding what people want,” Gearhart said.
Gearharts makes its chocolates in Charlottesville. The Short Pump location will make its own pastries and a few chocolate products, though the majority of the company’s production will continue to take place in Charlottesville.
The company’s chocolates are available in about 75 stores, most of them in Virginia in addition to stores in D.C. and Maryland, Gearhart said.
Gearharts has taken over a 1,400-square-foot space in Short Pump Station, which is about twice as large as the chocolate store’s old spot on Libbie Avenue.
The Gearharts space in the Trader Joe’s-anchored shopping center is next to Five Below and was formerly occupied by Frostings Bake Shop, which was recently purchased by Lindsey Food Group and has relocated to 4336 Pouncey Tract Road.
Gearharts plots its reentry to the Richmond market just as Kline’s Dairy Bar, another sweets seller also based in the western part of Virginia, plans its own expansion into the local area with a Chesterfield ice cream store.
Yeah! Tim was my neighbor growing up. His chocolate is unmatched. Soooooo good.