5 AREA CHOCOLATE SHOPS that offer special sweets for Valentine’s Day
A box of chocolates could seem like the ultimate cliche Valentine’s Day gift ... unless those boxes are filled with sweets boasting exotic flavors like passionfruit, chai-rose, prickly pear and mango-saffron. These are just some of the options you’ll find at Milwaukee’s local chocolate shops, which design artisan confections as beautiful as they are delicious — a sweet gift even the biggest Valentine’s Day cynic couldn’t wrinkle their nose at. Julie Waterman, owner and chocolatier at Indulgence Chocolatiers, which has three locations in the Milwaukee area, said the care and craftsmanship behind the confections made by local chocolatiers can’t compare with those last-minute boxes found at a convenience store. “If you shop with us or another Milwaukee chocolate company, choosing something local makes it a special experience. It’s not just another cliche Valentine’s gift,” Waterman said.
Her shop and many others across the area plan their Valentine’s Day offerings well in advance of the holiday, crafting signature flavors, designs and packages that show a level of thoughtfulness that can’t be mass produced.
And Valentine’s Day isn’t just about buying gifts for romantic partners.
“I see people come in and, yes, maybe they’re buying a gift for a significant other, but often it’s for something they just care about or want to feel recognized and appreciated,” Waterman said. “Before I was in the chocolate industry, I thought Valentine’s Day could be kind of a cheesy holiday that can get cliche pretty fast. But seeing people put in effort to be thoughtful and caring with the kind of gifts they choose changed that. Watching them come in, ask questions and pick out something special and different just makes the holiday feel very sweet.”
For extra-special gifting this year, here are a few Milwaukee-area chocolate makers going all out with Valentine’s Day specials.
Indulgence Chocolatiers
Founded in 2007, Indulgence Chocolatiers has three locations across the Milwaukee area: Walker’s Point (211 S. Second St.), Brookfield (320 High St.) and Shorewood (4525 N. Oakland Ave.), which also operates as an ice cream shop selling Purple Door ice cream.
The shops are filled with handcrafted, meticulously designed truffles and chocolate confections, and the Walker’s Point and Brookfield shops also operate pairings bars, where customers can pop in to pair chocolates with wine, beer, cheese and more.
All Indulgence retail locations are stocked with special Valentine’s Day offerings, the centerpiece being the Valentine Inspired Truffle Collection ($13), a variety box with six specialty flavors including spiced strawberry vanilla, ruby pistachio praline, rose chai honey, raspberry creme fraiche, ginger passionfruit caramel and cafe au lait.
Each of the truffles has a distinct shape and intricate design. Inside the box is a description of each flavor along with its design so there’s no guessing which flavor is which.
Other Valentine’s Day specials at Indulgence are 2.5-oz. milk chocolate and dark chocolate hearts ($5), dark chocolate bars infused with edible rose petals ($8.50), and heart-shaped marshmallows ($4), which make for an extrasweet gift when packaged with one of Indulgence’s hot cocoa mixes, in flavors like Mayan Spice, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt and Vanilla Bean Malt ($12).
While not specifically made for Valentine’s Day, Waterman said any of the shop’s confections made with ruby chocolate would be perfect gifts for the holiday. This kind of specialty chocolate is naturally pink, with no artificial coloring to give it its rosy hue. It comes from the ruby cocoa bean, which imparts a slightly fruity, slight tangy flavor.
Indulgence Chocolatiers sells mendiant candies with ruby chocolate, raspberry and almonds ($8) as well as ruby raspberry almond bark ($13).
Waterman said chocolate bars are a smart gift idea because their shelf life is quite a bit longer (about a full year) than that of truffles (about four weeks).
“So many of our customers say they like to break off pieces of the bars for a little treat here and there,” she said.
Indulgence sells more than 20 varieties of chocolate bars, with flavors from espresso bean to coconut curry to one inspired by IPA beer. Waterman said the shop’s bestseller is its dark chocolate sea salt bar — specifically its Milwaukee Chocolate Bar, a version of the dark chocolate sea salt bar made with a specialty mold that stamps the chocolate with the shapes of some of the city’s landmarks. “It’s a little nod to this place that we love,” Waterman said.
If your Valentine loves experiences as much as sweets, another Valentine’s Day gift idea is a chocolate pairing class at Indulgence. Options include cocktail pairings, wine pairings, cheese pairings and more. Classes are offered at the Walker’s Point and Brookfield locations, as well as virtually.
“The virtual pairing classes are fun because we’ll send you a kit of everything you need, then you can sign in to the class and follow along at home,” Waterman said. “So it’s just like you’re at the actual event ... but you get to be in your pajamas.”
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Store hours: Walker’s Point: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Brookfield: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Shorewood: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
Fazio’s
You can’t miss the holiday selection at Fazio’s, 13425 Watertown Plank Road, Suite #7, located in the Park & Shop plaza in Elm Grove. Fazio’s is celebrating its 10th year in business, and new this year, the shop has a walk-in Valentine’s Day Chalet stocked with grab-and-go giftable goodies like hand-crafted fudge, candies, gourmet popcorn, cookies, wine and boxes of almost-too-prettyto-eat artisan chocolates.
“It will be a great option for people who truly just need to pop in and grab something quickly,” said Cindy Karrels, Fazio’s co-owner and chocolatier.
One of those quick gift ideas is a dark or milk chocolate Grab N Go Bag ($24.95), a collection of strawberry gumdrops, M&M’s chocolate bark, nonpareils and a box of artisan chocolates wrapped in cellophane and tied with a satin ribbon.
Other quick options are the shop’s chocolate flower bouquets ($21.95), milk or dark chocolate cocoa bombs ($7.95), bags of foil-wrapped chocolate hearts ($6.50) and a heart-shaped boxed filled with chocolate- and cherryflavored popcorn ($7.95).
The store has made it easy (and quick!) to shop its pre-packaged gifts: Just walk through the chalet and check out on the register through the other side on your way out the door.
“We’ve made sure we have plenty of options and price points for everyone,” Karrels said. “Kids can come in to get little chocolates or candies to bring to school or people can come in to pick from our artisan selection of chocolates if they know exactly what flavors their partner likes.” Karrels added that all gifts come in a bag with tissue paper, and customers can choose a Valentine’s Day card from their in-store selection.
Those artisan chocolates are intricately hand decorated by Karrels and are art pieces in their own right. For Valentine’s Day, they come in special seasonal flavors like Bubbly Bliss (filled with champagne ganache), You’re My Cup of Tea (masala chai tea ganache in a milk chocolate shell shaped like a coffee mug), Irish You Were Mine (Irish cream liqueur in a white chocolate shell), Ain’t No Mountain High (dark chocolate filled with dark chocolate ganache infused with port wine) and more.
Customers can select nine of their favorite flavors with the Sweetheart’s Selection box ($28.95) or they can pick up a pre-selected box of chocolates. The Heart’s Desire box ($36.95) includes an assortment of 11 artisan chocolate flavors, but if you want a little bit of everything, go for the Cupid’s Pick Heart Box ($71.95), which holds 24 pieces of assorted artisan chocolates plus Fazio’s famous truffles, chocolate-dipped cookies and caramels.
There’s even an eight-piece box filled with all gluten-free chocolates, the Hearts of Love box ($22.95); and an eight-piece all vegan chocolates box, the Vegan’s Valentine ($22.95).
And back this year are Fazio’s jumbo chocolate-covered strawberries, decorated for the holiday and dipped in white, dark or milk chocolate. Strawberries will be available to pick up in-store Feb. 12 through Feb. 14.
Store hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. MondayFriday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
Freese’s Candy Shoppe
Freese’s Candy Shoppe, 7312 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis, has been family-owned since opening in 1928, making hand-dipped chocolates using the same recipe handed down for generations.
The store goes all out for Valentine’s Day, offering a huge selection of
chocolates for customers.
Kailey Matel, marketing director of W.A. Matel Corporation and daughter of Freese’s owners Mike and Wendy Freese, said the store’s most popular items are the pre-packed assorted chocolate boxes. Freese’s offers six sizes of the heart-shaped boxes, ranging from a 1/4-pound box ($15.95) to a 3-pound box ($139). The boxes come in various designs.
“We try to make it easy on the people coming in,” Matel said. “They just have to tell us what design they like, and they’re all set to go!”
But if customers want to get more specific, they can also choose a selection of chocolate to include in the boxes.
Aside from the heart-shaped boxes, Freese’s has a large assortment of smaller specialty Valentine’s Day chocolates. Foil-wrapped heart- or lipshaped chocolates are sold by the half pound ($11) or full pound ($22). Cherry juju hearts are also sold by the half pound ($6) or full pound ($10). There are also chocolate suckers available in a variety of shapes for $2 to $3 each.
The chocolates are available in-store now, but from Feb. 12 through Feb. 14, Freese’s will offer chocolate-covered strawberries for $25.95 per pound.
That’s not all! Freese’s makes Valentine’s Day gifting even easier by offering Valentine’s Day cards, flowers and balloons in the store.
“We try to make it a one-stop shop for everyone,” Matel said.
For the most variety, stop into Freese’s West Allis shop. But there are a few pre-packaged heart boxes and chocolate lip suckers available to purchase online.
Store hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. TuesdayFriday, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday
Melt Chocolates, Ltd.
Melt Chocolates, Ltd., in Bay View’s Lincoln Warehouse at 2018 S. First St., was founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rogness. It specializes in small, handmade batches of chocolate with contemporary flavors and designs. Melt recently earned gold and silver medals from the 2023 Academy of Chocolate Awards for two of its truffles, the sweet and spicy Calypso and the blueberry-cinnamon Kashmir, respectively.
Melt has three chocolate specials for Valentine’s Day.
Its Crystal Hearts chocolates ($13) are large, two-layered chocolate hearts that come in two flavors. The Passion Heart is filled with coconut caramel and a milk chocolate passionfruit ganache, and the You’re the G.O.A.T. Heart is filled with a pear compote and a white chocolate, honey and goat cheese ganache.
Melt’s Diamond Heart Collection ($13) is a fourpiece box filled with heartshaped signature truffles including the Desert Pear (prickly pear, prickly pear liqueur and white chocolate ganache), La Mancha (mango, saffron and milk chocolate ganache), Blackberry Caramel (dark chocolate blackberry caramel) and Raspberry Rose (raspberry, rose and white chocolate ganache).
The Heart to Share Collection ($40) includes a heart-shaped box holding 16 pieces of signature Melt chocolates, two each of eight pre-selected flavors.
Customers can also select flavors from the ready-made chocolate display at the shop in the Lincoln Warehouse.
Store Hours: Melt is typically open 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, but will have expanded hours leading up to Valentine’s Day: 4-8 p.m. Feb. 8, 12-8 p.m. Feb. 9, 12-7 p.m. Feb. 10, 12-4 p.m. Feb. 11, 4-8 p.m. Feb 12, 12-8 p.m. Feb. 13, 12-8 p.m. Feb. 14.
Burke Candy & Ingredients
Since 1929, the family-owned and -operated Burke Candy & Ingredients has been making quality chocolates, caramels, toffees, truffles and other confections using many of the same recipes from the store’s inception.
Now run by Tim and Julia Burke, the candy shop has locations at 3840 N. Fratney St. in Riverwest and 513 E. Silver Spring Dr. in Whitefish Bay.
Burke’s popular Peanut Butter Crunch Bombs ($8) will be specially decorated for Valentine’s Day. The heart-shaped confections come in both milk and dark chocolate.
The store also carries silk-wrapped heart-shaped boxes in two shapes. The large box ($35) contains 30 pieces of assorted chocolates and the medium box ($18) contains 15 pieces. Inside are an assortment of milk and dark chocolates including Peanut Butter Crunch Bombs, sea salt caramels, toffee bites, bon bons, Flying T’s and truffles.
There are also two sizes of squareshaped chocolate boxes for Valentine’s Day. The nine-piece box ($15) includes an assortment of milk chocolates including sea salt caramels, toffee bites and white chocolate sea salt caramel. The 17-piece box ($32) includes an assortment of milk and dark chocolates including Peanut Butter Crunch Bombs, sea salt caramels, toffee bites, and your choice of either chocolate-covered pretzels or white chocolate peppermint bark.
Burke also sells 1/4-pound solid chocolate hearts in dark, milk or white chocolate, each wrapped in cellophane with Burke’s signature pink bow ($10).
Chocolate-dipped and decorated strawberries are now available for preorder online and are for store pick-up only. Strawberries come in milk chocolate, dark chocolate or an assortment of each in packs of four ($16) or eight ($32).
Store Hours: Riverwest: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday; Whitefish Bay: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday