New at King of Prussia Town Center: Kilwins Chocolates & Ice Cream

UPPER MERION » The newest resident at King of Prussia Town Center may not be a restaurant like its surrounding neighbors but it has been stirring up plenty of taste buds since the moment it opened its doors recently.

The shop entices, entertains and aroma-therapizes customers with hand-crafted fudge and waffle cones made “theater style” on site, in addition to chocolate, caramel apples, ice cream and a host of other confections in a lively Main Street corner location that faces the center’s vibrant park area.

It’s a setting that was ripe for the 71-year-old Michigan-based chocolatier’s entry into Pennsylvania, noted Gary Simpson, who co-owns the franchise with son Glenn Simpson and Glenn’s wife Sarah.

It’s Simpson’s second goround with Kilwins (as with Wegmans, the apostrophe in the family name is dismissed), having owned and operated a Rehoboth Beach location from 2010 to 2015, so his business smarts snapped to attention when the Town Center spot crossed his path.

“I owned the Rehoboth store for five years, took a break and sold that, and then got excited about bringing the Kilwins brand to Philadelphia. We looked around the whole area for locations, and this one is really unique,” Simpson said.

“We looked at Cherry Hill, Marlton and several others but they were all big box retail and parking lots and none of them felt right for a Kilwins. It’s really that green space and a cluster of restaurants, as opposed to shopping, and the café seating that creates an energy that’s not there in a town center that has a parking lot and stores. We want people to come in here and be in a good mood, and we think this setting is conducive to that. We want our customers to be in a relaxed mood, to come in here for a mini vacation and we find that restaurants, coffee shops and outdoor spaces is all consistent with that mentality.”

The chain that bills itself as “sweet in every sense since 1947” is filling a void at King of Prussia Town Center that beautifully complements the existing locations, Simpson said.