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Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate hosts education fundraiser to benefit Guatemala, Kenya

On Saturday, Dec. 9, from 2-5 pm, Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire will host a festive holiday gathering at the beloved village chocolate shop. A significant portion of proceeds from the event will support Vida, a school in Guatemala for children and youth, many with disabilities. Handmade ornament bird sales will also benefit the school. Appetizers will be served, as well as wine and sweets at the chocolate shop; next door at the gelateria, pop-up sales of beautiful handmade earrings from Kenya will support education there.

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Grocers Daughter Chocolate’s long-awaited gelateria opens in Empire

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If Jody and DC Hayden, owners of Grocers Daughter Chocolate, didn’t already win you over with their high-quality dark chocolate truffles, sumptuous cookies, or perfect-on-a-summer-day fudgsicles, you’ll almost certainly submit to their smooth and creamy gelato. In fact, don’t even try to resist. The Haydens will officially open their long-awaited gelateria next to the chocolate shop on M-22 in downtown Empire on Saturday, July 23.

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BARC hopes to build workforce housing with recycled materials

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From the outside, it may seem surprising that a recycling company would be interested in building homes. But for Andy Gale, President of Bay Area Recycling for Charities (BARC) in Traverse City, the move makes complete sense. Not only is it an opportunity for their organization to step up the “reuse” portion of the “3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” but it also enables Gale to return to his roots in construction. And, perhaps most notably, it could offer access to more affordable housing that northern Michigan desperately needs.

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Big changes reshape Empire

From staff reports Tina (Taghon) Dunphey and husband Mark bought Tiffany’s Café in downtown Empire on Sept. 23. Mark teaches at Leelanau St. Mary in Lake Leelanau where their two sons attend school, so Tina will watch over the shop. They plan to be open through the winter on Fridays and Saturdays from 9-6 and […]

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Empire’s Anchor Hardware holds fire sale

The new owners of Anchor Hardware in Empire—Jody and DC Hayden, who own Grocers Daughter Chocolate—will hold a fire sale on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, from 9 am to 5 pm. Everything in store will be discounted 50 to 70% off.

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Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate moves into hyggelig new space; fudgsicles sell like hotcakes

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One day last year, before Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate owners Jody and DC Hayden purchased the retail space next to Margaret Hodge’s Anchor Hardware—across M-22 from the Empire Village Inn—DC counted the number of cars that drove by and determined that Empire gets twice as much traffic north of the M-22 and M-72 intersection than south, where M-22 heads toward Benzie County. That sealed the deal.

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Ecuador to Empire: the Journey of Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate

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Chocolate making is an incredible journey. For Grocer’s Daughter this journey starts in Ecuador. Near the small town of Calceta, in western Ecuador, sits the Fortaleza Del Valle cocoa cooperative. Nearly 900 small, family cacao farms rely on the cooperative to obtain expensive Fair Trade and Organic certifications, carefully process their beans and ensure that they will be sold for a fair, living wage.

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Glen Lake Library holds National Library Week events

The Glen Lake Library in Empire will host two special presentations to help celebrate National Library Week: the documentary film Nothing Like Chocolate on April 12 and well-known local author Jerry Dennis on April 14.

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Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate celebrates 10th birthday

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Join the staff of Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate to celebrate the company’s 10th birthday in Empire, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Founder Mimi Wheeler will make a special appearance from 10 a.m. until noon to serve complimentary chocolate birthday cake while it lasts. Grocer’s Daughter will launch a brand new chocolate bar and will preview a soon-to-be-released Michigan-made wholesale packaging.

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From chocolatier to chocolate blogger

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Folks around Leelanau County frequently ask what Mimi Wheeler has been up to since she sold Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate last spring to food conscious entrepreneurs Jody Dotson and Dc Hayden. The answer—she launched MimisChocolateBlog.com, where she writes about chocolate recipes, traveling the world (Mimi spent much of the recent grueling winter in Guatemala and Ecuador) and introducing her fine food to new friends, and grandkids.

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