Bitzel's Chocolate to open in Suwanee, GA on January 17

The factory and store will offer gourmet chocolates created by celebrity pastry chef Sabrina Coombs.

Bitzel's Chocolate to bring immersive chocolate experience to Suwanee, Georgia this fall

courtesy of: Bitzel's Chocolate

Bitzel’s Chocolate, a state-of-the-art factory and educational experience, will take guests on an immersive and informative “Journey of Chocolate” when it opens its doors to the public during a grand opening celebration on Wednesday, January 17.

The 7,000-square-foot factory, retail store, and attraction is the vision of chocolatier and entrepreneur Ray Bitzel and his business partner Dave Rose. Bitzel’s Chocolate offers chef-crafted gourmet confections created by celebrity pastry chef Sabrina Coombs and a Willy Wonka-style behind-the-scenes look at the production process “from bean to bar.”

“We want our guests to enjoy what we think will be the best chocolate they’ve ever tasted,” says Bitzel. “And we want them to see what makes it so special. To see how it’s made, how the cacao is harvested, fermented, dried, sorted, all the way to the packaging—to get the full chocolate experience.”

The facility’s main attraction, which Bitzel calls “the Glass Chocolate Factory,” is the “Journey of Chocolate,” a literal trail that guides visitors through an artificial cacao forest as they learn about the growing and harvesting of cacao from farmers in Ecuador and Uganda. As guests follow the trail, they witness the cutting-edge, automated production process firsthand, from fermentation, drying and sorting to bar molding, panning, spinning, enrobing and packaging.

The retail store showcases treats including chocolate bark, chocolate-covered fruits and nuts, ice cream-filled bonbons and truffles, and molded chocolate products, all made from milk chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel chocolate, and ruby chocolate, a unique confection made from ruby cacao. “It has a tart, raspberry flavor, and as far as we know, we’ll be the first chocolatier to introduce it to the U.S. on a large scale,” Bitzel says. “We’re very excited about that.”

Bitzel’s also features a “Chocolate Theater” for special events like chocolate-making classes, tastings, and pairings, which also is available for private and corporate events.

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Liz Parker Kuhn is the senior editor of Candy Industry and Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, and has worked at BNP Media since 2012. She has written for CBS Detroit as well as for her own blogs. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. Liz can be contacted at (248) 839-7156 or at parkere@bnpmedia.com.