Latest news with #Hoffman'sChocolates
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hoffman's Chocolates closes flagship store, and buyers wanted for $30 million West Palm Beach mansions
Welcome to The Dirt! I'm real estate, weather and critter reporter Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the sizzling market. This is a public service announcement that it's spring, and you know what that means. It's not just the Easter bunny coming to town, it's the car carriers — those mechanical behemoths that descend on the Town of Palm Beach to ferry back north the Lambos and Landies driven all season to tennis, the club and/or Mr. B's (for those adventurers willing to cross over to Georgia Avenue on the mainland.) And, as a friendly reminder, the fume spitting, ear splitting carriers are inhumanely restricted to loading at the south parking lot of Phipps Ocean Park, per Town of Palm Beach rules. I know, I know, RPP (Rich People Problems) but it's also a sign that we are nearing those carefree days of 90% humidity, Sleestak-size mosquitoes, and hurricanes. Love. Florida. ❤🌴❤ Stay up to date on South Florida's sizzling real estate market and sign up for The Dirt weekly newsletter, delivered every Tuesday! Exclusively for Palm Beach Post subscribers. In real estate news, we say goodbye to the flagship Hoffman's Chocolates store, $30 million waterfront homes in West Palm Beach are like wallflowers at the high school dance with no Jake Ryan or red Porsche to rescue them, and billionaire oracle Stephen Ross says the future looks bright (what tariff wars?) Hoffman's Chocolates flagship store in Greenacres closed with little pomp and circumstance this month, ending decades of tradition, including its holiday winter wonderland where people could stroll through a festive light display without the pitfalls of chattering teeth, hot chocolate burns and runny noses that accompany such affairs in chillier climes. What will happen to the iconic Tudor-style building? It may become a prep facility for Saito's Japanese Steakhouse. But somehow a flaming onion volcano just doesn't seem to fit the facility. Its exposed beams and pitched roofs are definitely more milk chocolate caramel truffles and après-ski than hibachi. A handful of $30 million-plus waterfront homes are on the market in West Palm Beach and what more could a well-heeled buyer want than a mansion with a view and no Bentleys tailgating them to the middle-bridge where a barge will undoubtedly be crawling through so that the span is up for like three days. Maybe we're on the downside of the Trump Bump (Trump Slump?) because the glittering new construction homes haven't hooked a buyer yet. The public is reminded, however, that just like with hurricanes, it only takes one, and a Cat 5 billionaire might be just around the corner. Everyone can agree that Stephen Ross knows a thing or two about earning a living, so when he waves off worries about the economy, tariffs and the looming loss of the Thin Mint Frosty, people will probably listen. That's not to say there won't be some short-term instability, however. And Related Ross President Ken Himmel said corporate growth plans may be in question more this year than they were last year. Still, overall, people continue to move to South Florida at a steady clip (874 per day through 2028) and they are always going to need healthcare and homes. And for most of us who already live here, we also need those things, just with a discount, or some kind of BOGO, or a combo deal that comes with biggie fries, nuggs and a free prize such as a $30 million waterfront mansion. Live lightly. Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@ Help support our local journalism, subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: $30 million West Palm Beach waterfront homes slow to sell
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What happened at Hoffman's Chocolates' flagship shop over the weekend? Nothing sweet
Beloved South Florida-born confectionary Hoffman's Chocolates shut down its flagship shop in Greenacres over the weekend, ending nearly 40 years of business and sweet memories. The gourmet chocolate shop at 5190 Lake Worth Road served its final sweets at 6 p.m. Sunday in the same Tudor-style building it had occupied since the late 1980s. Until recently a working chocolate factory, this Hoffman's hub captivated a generation of sweets lovers with public factory tours, whimsical winter wonderlands, ice skating and chocolate-covered pretzels in the outdoor gardens. Hoffman's Chocolates president Ryan Nelson told the Sun Sentinel this week that the building's owner has new plans for the property. Nelson said the closing marked the 'end of a meaningful chapter,' though he assured customers that it's not the end of Hoffman's Chocolates in South Florida. 'Customers can continue to enjoy our legendary, award-winning gourmet chocolates, chocolate-covered treats, fudge, ice cream, and more at any of our five South Florida stores,' he said. The Greenacres closure follows the relocation of the company's full-scale chocolate factory, which was situated in the same building as the shop, back in 2022. Hoffman's Chocolates, owned by the Fort Lauderdale holding company BBX Capital since 2013, sold the factory building to Saito Holdings LLC in March 2022 for $2.95 million, according to property records. BBX Capital then moved Hoffman's chocolate-making operations to an 80,000-square-foot facility in Orlando under a new name, Las Olas Confections and Snacks (which also owns brands Williams & Bennett, Anastasia Confections and Money on Honey). Restaurants, Food and Drink | Restaurant news: Moody Tongue Sushi debuts in West Palm Beach; heard about The Bite Eatery? Restaurants, Food and Drink | Coming soon: Another Naked Farmer is on the way; immersive dining in Lighthouse Point? Meanwhile, Saito Holdings had allowed the chocolate-maker to keep running its longtime retail shop in the building. The Fort Lauderdale-headquartered company operates Saito's Japanese Steakhouse, which has five locations from Dania Beach to Wellington. It hasn't yet announced what the Greenacres building will become. South Florida chocolate lovers reacted to the bittersweet news on social media on Sunday evening, just as the candy hub prepared to close without fanfare, by sharing fond memories of family outings and delicious treats. 'No! I grew up right by there and used to work there. One of my first jobs. Wow! How sad,' commenter Sally Hart posted on the Facebook group 'Lake Worth Local.' 'I remember when I raised my boys [we visited] a Christmas event with the electric trains,' poster Conny Odle-Morgan added. 'This is very sad that we're taking away traditions that were so meaningful.' 'Their dark chocolate pretzels!' commenter Marie Cubetz wrote. 'When the family owned it, Paul Hoffman would bring boxes of dark chocolate pretzels to my neighbor's parties. So good.' Hoffman's namesake Paul Hoffman founded the chocolatier in 1975 out of a downtown Lake Worth Beach storefront at 813 Lucerne Ave., later expanding the store to Greenacres while snapping up 2.5 acres of land around it. A train hobbyist, Hoffman started throwing seasonal Winter Wonderlands on the property in 1989, showcasing an ever-growing collection of model trains, engines, cabooses and tankers winding through a village of tiny homes. Hoffman's retailers remain open in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Plantation and Fort Lauderdale. Visit
