co-owner of Asheville’s The Chocolate Fetish
Rapid River Magazine: Tell us a little about The Chocolate Fetish.
Elizabeth Foley: The Chocolate Fetish has been Asheville’s premier chocolate shop since 1986. We handcraft our high quality chocolates in small batches right here in downtown Asheville.
We are a locally owned, family run business. Our chocolates have won awards nationwide including recently being named as one of the country’s best chocolatiers by the International Chocolate Salon and Taste TV.
RRM: Why do you think it’s important to shop and buy local this holiday season?
EF: Shopping local is important to help strengthen our local economy. According to UnitedWeStand.org when you spend $100 at a locally owned businesses an average of $68 per $100 stays in the local economy versus only $43 per $100 when spent at a national chain.
One example of how shopping local keeps money in our local economy is our partnership with Helpmate, a local organization that provides support to victims of domestic violence.
All year long we sell a special Helpmate Assortment the proceeds from which are donated to Helpmate. This October, which was domestic violence awareness month, we created a special promotion with Helpmate which resulted in us donating more than $500 to the organization. When local businesses thrive we are able to reinvest in our community.
Another benefit of shopping local is that local businesses are often able to give you more specialized service. For example when you place an order on our website and fill out a gift message we will actually hand write the message on a gift tag, rather than the standard printed packing slip message that big box stores will give you.
RRM: What are some of your holiday specials?
EF: We have a variety of special assortments for the holidays, handmade chocolate Santas, and delicious stocking stuffers. I’m really excited about our newest seasonal flavor our EnticeMint Ecstasy Elite Truffle©. Our EnticeMint Truffle is a dark chocolate ganache infused with fresh mint and dipped in an extra dark chocolate shell.
Order online for easy in-store pick up or nationwide shipping, www.chocolatefetish.com
The Chocolate Fetish
36 Haywood Street, downtown Asheville
www.chocolatefetish.com
www.facebook.com/chocolatefetish