The chocolatey scents aren’t going anywhere, but the chocolate store is.
Blommer Chocolate Co. will shut down its factory-front sweets shop next month to make room for an expansion of the manufacturing facility at 600 W. Kinzie St., the company announced Tuesday.
“In the coming year, we will begin updating and refreshing the Chicago facility including several enhancements in and around the plant,” a company statement read. “Unfortunately, the ‘Blommer Store’ that is open to the public will be closed beginning Feb. 28 in order to allocate this space to an expansion of our facility. There are no current plans for its reopening at this time.
“Blommer is excited about the changes ahead as a growth opportunity for our employees, our neighbors and the Chicago community,” the company said.
Founded by Henry Blommer Sr. and two brothers in 1939, the 270,000-square-foot factory has sent cocoa scents wafting downtown for generations, with the smell carrying most noticeably on warm, breezy days.
Blommer is the biggest industrial chocolate manufacturer on the continent and third largest in the world, employing about 900 people across North America and China.
The family-owned business was sold for $750 million in 2018 to the Japanese company Fuji Oil Holding Inc. It’s still run by Pete Blommer.
