When I first opened Champagne & Chocolate in South Lake Tahoe, I knew one thing for sure: if I was going to build a business around chocolate, it had to be really, really good chocolate.
Not just something I could order from a distributor and put in a case. I wanted something people would taste and remember.
And I already knew where I wanted it to come from.
The Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory.
If you’ve lived around Northern Nevada for a while, you probably know the place. It’s that little candy factory along 395 in Washoe Valley that people have been stopping at for generations. I knew the chocolate, I knew the reputation, and I had my heart set on carrying it at Champagne & Chocolate.
There was only one problem: they didn’t really do that.
They had never considered a partnership quite like what I was proposing. So I asked. And then I asked again.
And again.
I’m pretty persistent when I believe in something.
Eventually, they gave me a chance. What started as me simply wanting the best chocolate I could find for my new business turned into something I never could have predicted.
I started spending more time around the Chocolate Nugget. I started learning about candy-making, not just selling chocolate, but actually understanding the craft behind it. I learned how much goes into something that, from the outside, can look so simple.
And then I started learning the history.
That’s when I remember thinking, wow, this is so much bigger than a candy store.
The story goes all the way back to 1936, when Frank Feriance began making candy in Akron, Ohio. That knowledge was passed through the family from one generation to the next. In 1983, the family brought that tradition to Northern Nevada and opened the first Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory in Washoe Valley.
Over time, the business grew to include a second location in Mound House, where the candy factory and additional retail space are located today.
When I started spending more time around both locations, I began to realize just how much history I had stepped into. The Washoe Valley shop is the place so many people remember stopping at along 395, while Mound House is where so much of the candy-making itself happens. Seeing both sides of the business made me appreciate that this wasn’t just a storefront people loved. There was an entire craft, process, and family history behind what ended up in that little box of chocolate.
And they kept doing things the old-fashioned way.
Some of the candy-making equipment inside the factory dates back to the early 1900s. It was used by the family generations ago, and some of it is still being used today. The chocolate and candies aren't mass-produced. They're made by people who actually know the craft, using recipes, techniques, and traditions that have survived decade after decade.
The more I learned, the more fascinated I became.
I started to understand why people have such an emotional connection to this place. Someone will walk in and tell us, “My parents used to bring me here when I was a kid.” Then you look next to them, and they're standing there with their own kids or grandkids.
That happens all the time.
There are people who have been buying the same peanut brittle for decades. There are families who stop in every time they drive between Reno and Carson City. People remember the smell when they walked in, the candy they always picked out, or the person who first brought them here.
You can't manufacture that kind of history.
Over time, my relationship with the Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory became much more than a business partnership. Eddie Feriance, the third-generation candy maker carrying on his family's tradition, became someone I learned from. Eventually, I was given the opportunity to become the next owner of the candy factory. One profile described that transition as a little bit of a real-life Willy Wonka story, which still makes me smile.
Becoming the owner was exciting.
But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't also intimidating.
Because when you take over a business like this, you're not just buying a company. You're being trusted with something people built long before you ever showed up.
I knew immediately that I had a responsibility to protect that.
I want someone who visited 20 or 30 years ago to walk through the doors and still recognize it. I want us to keep making candy the way it was meant to be made. I want to preserve the stories, the recipes, the equipment, and that feeling people have when they stop here.
At the same time, I'm excited about where we can take it next.
That's the funny part of all of this. I started out trying to find chocolate for a small business I was opening in South Lake Tahoe. I kept knocking on Chocolate Nugget's door because I wouldn't take no for an answer.
Now I'm helping carry forward a candy-making tradition that began 90 years ago.
Life is funny like that.
And on Saturday, Oct. 24, we're inviting Northern Nevada to celebrate that history with us.
From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory in Washoe Valley, we're throwing a free community celebration with live music, food trucks, games, bounce houses, a photo booth, candy specials, and plenty of chocolate.
But for me, the day is about more than celebrating a number.
It's about celebrating all of the people who got the Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory here.
The family that started making candy in 1936. The generations who kept the craft alive. The employees who have learned it. The customers who have stopped at our Washoe Valley and Mound House locations year after year. The parents who came here as kids and now bring their kids.
And hopefully, the generations that haven't walked through our doors yet.
Ninety years is a long time.
I'm just grateful that I get to be one small part of what comes next.
I hope you'll come celebrate with us Oct. 24. And if you do, make sure you try the peanut brittle. There's a reason people have been coming back for it all these years.
Whoa, what a story, huh?! I just took a look through my Google Cloud and discovered that I've been a proud Chocolate Nugget Factory fan and customer for almost 12 years now. I am honestly a little lost for words after reading this guest post about one of my most favorite businesses in the area.
I've made countless pit stops here, had full on tastings, shared conversations and laughs with workers and locals, played hopscotch with my kids, pigged out on natural, handmade candies and treats, and, of course, had the opportunity to watch some of those very candies being made at the Mound House location.
I've also had some especially memorable encounters with Tina, one of Chocolate Nugget's longest standing employees. She always made our visits that much more enjoyable. She would talk and play with my kids and sometimes even invite them to sit on the ground and watch I Love Lucy playing on the TV. Those little moments are the kinds of experiences that have made me such a big fan of this business and helped make the factory feel so special.
I was so excited to give Cesar a place to share the story of how he came to acquire the Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory and his vision for preserving what makes it so special. With the 90th anniversary coming up, I can't think of a better time to look back at the history of this beloved local business while also looking ahead to what's next.
After reading Cesar's story and learning more about his connection to Chocolate Nugget, I can't imagine a more fitting person to help carry on the legacy of this beloved pillar of Northern Nevada.
Cheers to 90 years of The Chocolate Nugget Factory, all the memories that came before, and to many more sweet years & memories ahead.
