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Mike and Emily Woloszyn inside Lune Chocolat in Manlius.
(Mike Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com)
MANLIUS, NY -- For three years, Lune Chocolat has satisfied Central New Yorkers' sweet cravings with its line of hand-made, artisan candies, from butter creams and mints to specialties like Peanut Butter Hedgies and Chai Buddhas.
Close up of truffles and chocolates from Lune Chocolat in Manlius.
Now owners Mike and Emily Wolozyn want to expand -- branching into baked goods and gourmet ice cream. They hope to move from their current spot in the plaza adjacent to the Manlius Swan Pond to a new, bigger location.
They have their eyes on a space at 187 W. Seneca St., a spot on the village/town line that used to be a chiropractor's office. (See map below.)
The move would more than triple their available space. The shop now occupies 420 square feet where the Wolozyns are currently bumping into one another. They've grown to have eight employees, making the situation worse.
The new spot would have about 1,600 square feet.
The relocation to that building, which the Wolozyns hope to purchase, requires a zoning change from the town. The current zoning is residential-mixed use, which does not allow for food preparation. The town has been considering the issue since March, but has made no ruling.
The Wolozyns are hoping to generate community support for the project, and are urging people to attend the next Manlius town board meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 13, where the matter wil be discussed.
"We've had a lot of support from the people in Manlius as we've grown, so we're hoping to have that support for the move," Emily Wolozyn said. "We'd like to stay in the Manlius community."
The new spot would have the kitchen for candy-making, plus ovens for baked goods and the ice cream-making area. The ice creams would be "super gourmet," like sweet potato casserole with handmade marshmallow, taro with almond and coconut, and
locally grown delicata squash with locally made whiskey.
The shop would also have indoor and outdoor seating areas, Emily Wolozyn said, plus and outdoor garden space to grow some ingredients (they often uses locally sourced ingredients).
Though still relatively new, Lune Chocolat has developed a reputation among Central New York's gourmet food lovers. It does custom orders for weddings and other events in addition to sales at its own shop. Its chocolates have also been included in the "Taste of New York" collection sold in Europe.
In addition to the current retail store, Lune Chocolat can be found at at the Fayetteville Farmers Market, Recess Coffeehouse, the Syracuse Real Food Co-op, and Natur-tyme.
Lune is also known for its collaborations with other CNY food busnesses, like Recess Coffee, the Onondaga Historical Association, Owera Vineyards, 2 Kids Goat Farm, Olive on Brooklea, Nature-Tyme, Mountain Grown Farm, and Kreimhild Butter.
"We've been working on this (the relocation and expansion) for almost a year now," Emily Wolozyn said. "We'd really like to get it resolved."