A Quebec-based chocolatier will officially open its first West Coast store in Victoria today in a move to establish a beachhead on this side of the country.
Les Chocolats Favoris’s store on Government Street is the company’s first foray into the region, but not the last, founder and president Dominique Brown said.
“For us, Victoria is a first step in a long-term plan. We have plans to open another in the Victoria area maybe next year and then open several others around Vancouver,” Brown said from Montreal, where he was boarding a flight to oversee the final touches on the Government Street store.
He said his love of Victoria played a big role in the decision to open here first in B.C., but he also liked the look of the marketplace.
“We do look at demographics when we open stores in any location,” he said, noting the strong tourism mix and a vibrant local economy ticked the right boxes. “This is obviously a very touristy place, and with the dollar exchange rate, we hope we will see more tourists come from the U.S. to Victoria. And we hope to grab a lot of local traffic as well.”
Les Chocolats Favoris stores are a combination of chocolate shop and creamery with ice cream. “We have 12 flavours of chocolate in store at all times available as real chocolate dipping for soft ice cream, which is unique, and we also have chocolate fondue in a tin can,” he said.
The can simplifies the fondue process because after boiling the can for 20 minutes, anyone can have instant fondue chocolate ready for dipping or drizzling, said Brown, who made his fortune by developing video-game company Beenox.
Les Chocolats Favoris cans are now for sale at Thrifty Foods.
Brown said the company has made a point of partnering with grocery chains in every area where it has opened stores. That has proven successful at both building the brand and increasing sales.
“Since launching that product in 2013 in Quebec, it immediately became hugely popular,” he said.
Les Chocolats Favoris also sells chocolate in bar form and as a line of fine chocolates with unique flavour profiles such as apple pie.
Since buying the 37-year-old company in 2010, when it had three Quebec City stores, Brown has expanded to 21 locations. The Victoria store will be its 22nd.
Store locations are designed to feel somewhat industrial — there are “chocolate pipes” that give the impression of carrying liquid chocolate through the store — and to retain an antique artisanal charm.
Brown said he loves the Victoria location. It is part of what appears to be a revitalized Government Street, which only a year and a half ago was riddled with vacancies.
That changed after attention was brought to the thoroughfare, said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, noting she brainstormed such ideas as tax breaks to stimulate action in the area.
“It certainly stimulated discussion about Government Street,” and that led to meetings with stakeholders to find solutions, Helps said.
“We talked about ideas, it raised awareness — and vacancy by vacancy, it just happened,” said Helps, noting that vacancies are now rare.
“It was people doing small things, small tasks along [with] government. There was no big policy change — just people coming together and making it a priority.”
She said the addition of Les Chocolats Favoris will bring a new vibrancy to the street, which is important for the city.
“It’s our grand stroll. The health of Government Street is in some ways an indication of the health of our downtown,” Helps said.
