BREAKING: West Village Losing Chocolate Bar

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Some sad news this afternoon: The first outpost of Chocolate Bar, at 48 Eighth Avenue in the West Village, will be closing April 30th. The small shop, which opened in 2002, was known as a candy store for grownups for its non-cutesy decor, refined chocolate bars and delicious hot cocoa. The message from Chocolate Bar's PR:

After much back and forth, the landlord of this single family brownstone has elected to turn the first floor into additional residential space for his growing family. Although Chocolate Bar is growing by leaps and bounds here in New York with its restaurant at Henri Bendel, their beach location in LBI, NJ and overseas with roughly 30 stores to open in Dubai, Egypt, Qatar and India, losing the original store is like loosing a child. Never the less, owner Alison Nelson is pressing ahead and is committed to opening a new location here in the gritty city shortly.

When contacted for comment, Nelson said, "I would love to stay in the West Village, but I'm seeing 600-square-foot spaces for $18,500 a month. The West Village is looking a bit bleak for us. I've seen a couple spaces in the East Village and Nolita. There is a lot of competition for spaces in neighborhoods that have good reputations and foot traffic, and people are watching what they spend these days."
· Chocolate Bar [Official Site]

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Henri Bendel

712 5th Avenue, Manhattan, NY 10019 (212) 247-1100 Visit Website