From Decadent Chocolates to Savory Breakfast Burritos… Great Lakes Chocolate & Dessert Co. Rocks!
They rock!
Using customer satisfaction as the gauge, the expansion of Great Lakes Chocolate & Dessert Company from Traverse City to a second location in Leland has been a rip-roaring success.
It’s supported by the determination and skill of Shana and Dave Sicotte, both graduates of the Culinary Institute of America, and years of experience in the ever-evolving specialty food service business, coveting the indulgence of chocolate for everyone characterized by the “perfect snap” of a chocolate bar.
“We learned quickly that success in this business is about providing consistent and really good food while also being a jack-of-all-trades to fix, repair and expect the unanticipated,” said Shana. “But we’ve worked our way through the challenges in Leland, from building a new customer base to coping with power outages. The future could not be more exciting. And that includes experiencing this adventure with two perfect companions – our two daughters!”
Above, center: Great Lakes Chocolate & Dessert Co. kitchen team member Amy Stanley, (left), joins Shana Sicotte at the café in Leland, sampling their latest sweet and savory menu items. Above right: their Traverse City location is still focused on producing an ever-evolving host of chocolates and speciality desserts, some with seasonal themes.
“We call our Leland adventure a ‘rendezvous with sweetness’,” said Dave. “We hope everyone will join us to enjoy our expanded line of handcrafted offerings – all made from fresh, wholesome ingredients, including special and exotic treats like our Acai Bowls of fruit and protein, capped off by a steaming cup of house-made cocoa.”
“Whether you visit us in Traverse City or Leland, you’ll see that there’s nothing mass produced about us,” said Shana. “We are dedicated to the bean-to-bar concept of natural, imaginative and great tasting foods. It’s our way and we feel it’s the best way too.”
Dave and Shana’s year-round business has some surprises in store for the year-ending holidays.
“We’re thinking about some events that folks will really love,” said Shana.
She says those may include Wine and Chocolate Pairings, Cheese and Chocolate Pairings and even a Hot Chocolate Social.
Venture North Funding and Development, a nonprofit provider of low-cost loans and no-cost consulting to small businesses in underserved areas, has been a proud provider of capital for the new Leland operation, on property familiar to culinarians everywhere, owned by Skip and Lynn Telegard of the Bluebird Restaurant & Tavern, now undergoing exciting renovations to unveil next year.
“We have nothing but respect for the way Shana and Dave have cultivated their business,” said Venture North president Laura Galbraith. “From their wholesale business that they started in 2018 to share their chocolate obsession with the world to their Traverse retail store and now, their success in Leland – their commitment to quality, healthful foods and consistency are models for entrepreneurs everywhere. We are proud to share in their journey. They are truly northern Michigan rock stars!”
“The Venture North team is a perfect match for our business,” said Shana. “They check in on us periodically to do two things: sample our ware and ask ‘how can we help? And when we are ready, so are they and we work together to spread the joy. What a great partner!”
For a .pdf press release version of this story, click here.