Sugar Bear: The Sweetest Heist of the Year
In April, we experienced a "bear-y" exciting event. After a long winter’s hibernation, a hungry black bear made its way to the back of our chocolate shop, ripped off the door, and made off with a 50-pound bag of sugar! Thanks to our security cameras, we captured the theft, which became quite the story and even made national news. The best part? The bear only took the sugar and left our shop otherwise unscathed. It’s safe to say, Sugar Bear became our most shared piece of media in GDC history!
New York Times: 36 Hours in Traverse City
We owe a huge thank you to local writer Stacey Brugeman for including GDC in The New York Times 36 Hours in Traverse City. This is such an incredible honor considering the caliber of food, drink and recreational opportunities we have in the Grand Traverse region. It’s been a humbling experience, and we’re excited to share GDC with even more people thanks to this feature.
Welcoming New Friends: J1 Visa Workers and Fun Adventures
This past summer, we had the great joy of hosting four exchange student-workers through the US State Department’s J1 Visa program. Daisy from China, Karina from Russia, Paula from Colombia, and Shanoya from Jamaica joined our team, and we loved every minute of getting to know them. We’re already researching Visa options to bring them back next year—fingers crossed! Our summer culminated in a memorable trip to New York City, where we saw Lake Street Dive at Madison Square Garden, visited the Met and MoMA, and enjoyed Broadway's Back to the Future—such a blast!The Cocoa Crisis of 2024: A Global Challenge
2024 saw an unprecedented global cocoa crisis, with weather-related challenges impacting cocoa production, especially in West Africa. From crop failures to skyrocketing cocoa prices, the industry faced significant hurdles. Cocoa prices surged by over 150%, from $3,000 per metric ton to over $13,000 by the end of December. We stand firm in our commitment to supporting fair wages for farmers, but it’s heartbreaking that the most vulnerable producers—many of whom supply major companies like Nestlé and Mars—are still not benefiting from these price increases. For more information, be sure to check out our April 2024 blog.Other memorable moments from the shop in 2024
Sidewalks are exciting!
If you see us skipping with joy back and forth between the back of the chocolate and gelato shops, it’s because we have a new, fancy sidewalk. Carts loaded with goodies going from shop to shop are soo much happier :-)
New Collectible Truffle Menus
Each menu features an original piece of art by Brianne Farley inspired by a truffle or caramel flavor. Collect them all! (Link to menus)
Hot Chocolate Flights
We introduced delicious hot chocolate flights (and gelato flights in the summer). The flight boards were handmade in nearby Benzie County from wood milled locally.
Cocoa Flavor Map
Jody served on the international tasting panel for the new Cocoa Flavor Map developed by the United States Department of Agriculture, MOCCA, Lutheran World Relief.
Exciting news for early 2025
We were awarded a 2025 New Jobs training grant through the State of Michigan and our team is thrilled for the upcoming training! Gabi and DC will attend Carpigiani’s frozen university gelato school in North Carolina and Gabi, Kara, Jen, Lori, Mady and Jody will complete the training and become certified Chocolate Tasters through the Institute for Chocolate and Cacao Tasting.
