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Potsdam's St. Lawrence Chocolates to close if not sold by Thanksgiving

Posted 9/21/12

POTSDAM -- Six-year old St. Lawrence Chocolates at 4 Main St. will close if a buyer is not found soon, its owners say. Tom and Ellen Nesbitt said they hope anyone interested in “having some fun and …

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Potsdam's St. Lawrence Chocolates to close if not sold by Thanksgiving

Posted

POTSDAM -- Six-year old St. Lawrence Chocolates at 4 Main St. will close if a buyer is not found soon, its owners say.

Tom and Ellen Nesbitt said they hope anyone interested in “having some fun and providing wonderful chocolate to the surrounding communities” will contact them soon.

“We just found that the initial opening costs and the soft economy over the past couple of years have not given us enough financial stability,” said Ellen Nesbitt, who has been making chocolates with her sister Angela Ballou.

“We grew the business from 12 flavors of creams, when we first opened in December 2006, to 26 creams and 12 flavors of truffles,” said Ballou. “It’s been a lot of work, but we had some fun along the way.”

The Nesbitts have set a deadline for looking for a buyer for mid-October. The sale would include everything in the shop, including the recipes and training if the new owner wanted it.

If a buyer is not found, the Nesbitts will close the business by Thanksgiving.

“I’m also selling the name and basically the reputation of creating some of the finest chocolates in the North Country,” said Nesbitt. “We appreciate all our regular customers, and are always glad to hear that we brought joy to so many people.”

Ballou said she thinks it would make a nice beginning business for a couple of college business majors, or someone who is looking to retire. And as the busiest part of the year is just beginning for the chocolate businesses, the new owner would see an instant gain in revenue, she noted.

Outstanding gift certificates will be honored until a new owner is named or Oct. 22.