Newfoundland Chocolate Co. closing N.S. stores due to impact of pandemic
Production still underway through Torbay Road factory in St. John's
St. John's-based Newfoundland Chocolate Company will be closing all three of its operations in Nova Scotia, as it weathers damage from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a news release posted on its Facebook page Monday, owners Christina Dove and Brent Smith said the impact of lost business has been too great to the family-run company.
"We will miss our wonderful Nova Scotia team who we have been so lucky to know," the couple wrote in the release. "We thank you for your wonderful energy and enthusiasm for our chocolate, our family story and Newfoundland and Labrador."
Three Halifax-area locations are closing permanently, at the Mic Mac Mall, the Halifax Shopping Center and the Sunnyside Mall.
Dove and Smith intend to reopen their locations in Newfoundland and Labrador in the coming weeks, as the province moves to a loosening of COVID-19 restrictions on businesses.
Dove and Smith said the the year has been challenging for their business, starting with the closure of Newfoundland locations during January's record blizzard.
"We were heartbroken [in March] to have had to lay off all of our 100+ team members at our retail locations as well as within our operations of our factory," they wrote.
Newfoundland Chocolate has resumed making product in St. John's at its Torbay Road Mall location, and has been offering curbside delivery and free delivery and shipping.
Dove and Smith started the business out of the basement of their home in 2008, and have since become a staple of downtown St. John's.
The couple expanded to Torbay Road last September, opening a 10,000-square-foot retail space and chocolate factory.
