Toothsome Treat

“Crisis” may be a strong word for the chocolate situation locally, but the situation is alarming. If you plan to say “I love you” with a box of chocolates on February 14th, options are dwindling. Dependable entry-level fare is still available at any of Fanny Farmer’s metro locations. And nowadays, we can’t turn around without knocking over a display of once-exotic Godiva boxes, which may say as much about our growth as Godiva’s. If Godiva isn’t good enough (it certainly no longer signifies that you went out of your way), Karl Bissinger offers custom-packed boxes from a worthy selection at their Galleria counter.

But in 2003, some favorite Minnesota chocolatiers have been up against forces as capricious as Eros himself, leaving the market more diminished than we’d like. As proof that a train wreck symbolizes love better than candy, Maude Borup’s warehouse and packing facility in Perham was destroyed when a Burlington Northern lumber car drove through it last October. Unlike the legendary collisions that produced Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, this accident merely trashed the Christmas inventory. Maude Borup co-owner Kim Kalan assured The Rake, however, that demand will be met for the Valentine’s rush. But she did advise that chocolate body frosting—a product not available when the company was founded in 1907—tends to sell out early.

A more tentative prospect is the future of Mr. B Chocolatier. The Gastronomer has seen many struggling enterprises come and go but was truly taken aback to learn that Mr. B had closed the doors of his only metro storefront. It apparently wasn’t enough to offer the best selection of the very highest quality hand-made chocolates in the Midwest at the metro’s demographic pinnacle, 50th and France. “We just weren’t getting enough traffic,” explained Mr. B’s daughter, Mary Reishus, when reached by landline at their Willmar production facility. Reishus did not blame exorbitant rents for the closure, though she confessed that the triangle-shaped storefront was hard to keep cool enough for the chocolate. “Because of the heat, we had to close the blinds, and people would think we were closed.”

Fortunately, Mr. B can still be bought at such cosmopolitan locations as St. Cloud; Deadwood, South Dakota; and the Willmar headquarters. And Wuollet bakeries here in the backwater will carry Mr. B, but they won’t be able to hand-pack your personal selections. For that you may need to plan a road trip to Willmar. We’d advise against taking the train.—Joe Pastoor