JACKSON, MI – Gilbert Chocolates announced that the formal ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening celebration for their new location in downtown Jackson will be October 14 and 15, 2016.
The historic Jackson chocolate company, founded by John O. Gilbert 116 years ago, was originally located downtown, but was relocated after his death in the 1960’s. Production continued at Ackerson Lake Drive until August of this year, when the operations moved into the renovated building at 233 N. Jackson Street.
“The legacy of Gilbert Chocolates has been preserved through the years by people who believe in the same quality standards of Gilbert himself. We are looking forward to the grand opening celebration in a building of the same era, and near the same location, as the original founding of the company,” said Co-Owner Brian Krichbaum.
A formal ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for 12 noon on Friday, October 14, 2016. The Grand Opening on Saturday, October 15, 2016, will also showcase the new 800 square foot retail store at the front of the building.
“The new store is larger than either of our existing Gilbert Chocolate retail store locations,” explained Krichbaum. “We have retail stores at the Jackson Crossing Mall and Meridian Mall in Lansing.”
The chocolate factory at the rear of the building will have 2,200 square feet of manufacturing space. The Made-in-Michigan Chocolates are carefully crafted using original equipment purchased by the founder.
“John Gilbert personally traveled to Italy to hand select the marble used on our candy tables,” Krichbaum said. “It was quite a feat to move the 900-pound marble tabletop, but it arrived safely and is already being used in our chocolate candy production. The chocolate making process used today follows the same recipes, methods, and quality standards that were originally developed by John Gilbert.”
“We’ve developed a special tagline for our business, ‘Gilbert Chocolates – The Sweet Soul of Jackson’, because of the history and legacy of this company, the dedication of our employees, and the loyalty of our customers,” said Krichbaum. “People often contact us to reminisce about how their relatives used to work downtown at Gilbert Chocolates, or how they visited the candy store when they were very young. We are excited to bring that experience back to downtown Jackson again.”
The retail store will be open from 11 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday. Factory tours will be available on a limited basis, starting later in October. Tour reservations will be available on the Gilbert Chocolate website at www.GilbertChocolates.com
Jackson, MI – The Gilbert Chocolates company will move their production facility back to downtown Jackson, Michigan this year, just a few hundred feet from the location of the original factory, founded by John O. Gilbert in 1900.
Brian and Sally Krichbaum, current owners of Gilbert Chocolates, purchased the vacant building at 233 North Jackson Street at the end of March, and have started working with contractors and Jackson’s Neighborhood and Economic Operations Department to prepare the building for a grand opening later this year.
“We are bringing a bit of history back to downtown Jackson,” explained Krichbaum. The vacant building was previously occupied by a restaurant, and prior to that, CH Hamler Co.
The legacy of Gilbert Chocolates has been preserved through the years by people who believe in the same quality standards as Gilbert himself. When Gilbert died in the 1960’s, Helga Austin purchased the company, and moved the production operations to its current location on Ackerson Lake Drive. Original recipes developed by the founder are still produced there, and will continue at the new location later this year.
The new facility will undergo extensive remodeling and renovation work in the coming weeks, including restoring the original hardwood floor, restoring the front façade, and building custom-made candy cabinets.
Their Ackerson Lake Drive location has been producing tens of thousands of pounds of chocolate candy each year in only 800 square feet of space, shipping orders across the country every day.
The downtown location will have 2,200 square feet of manufacturing space, 2,000 square feet of non-perishable storage space, and retail space of 800 square feet. The retail space will be larger than either of the existing Gilbert Chocolate retail stores, currently located at Jackson Crossing Mall and Meridian Mall in Lansing.
“We have people reminiscing all the time about how their relatives used to work downtown at Gilbert Chocolates, or how they visited the candy store there when they were very young. We are looking forward to bringing that experience back,” Krichbaum said. The business also plans to offer factory tours, with the capacity of up to 30 people touring the facility at a time.
“Gilbert Chocolates is committed to Jackson. Our employees and their families live here. We purchase our ingredients from Dawn Foods, another iconic Jackson Company. Anderson Printing makes our inserts, our candy wrappers, and our flavor guides. Polly Food Stores sell our candy and sells us other ingredients that our customers love to see covered in our fine chocolates,” he said.
ABOUT GILBERT CHOCOLATES
Gilbert Chocolates was founded in Jackson, Michigan in 1900 and has been producing fine chocolates ever since. They still use the tried and true recipes that made Gilbert Chocolates the Best Chocolate in Michigan. For more information, visit https://www.GilbertChocolates.com or contact Sally Krichbaum at 517-764-3141.
John O. Gilbert was inducted into the Heritage Hall of Fame by the Jackson Area Manufacturer’s Association on January 11, 2016. Here are some acceptance comments given by Brian Krichbaum, co-owner of Gilbert Chocolates with his wife, Sally
Tonight, John Gilbert is being honored by being named to the JAMA Heritage Hall of Fame. And it is fitting, as Gilbert Chocolates has been manufacturing candy right here in Jackson for 116 years. Many of you use aluminum, zinc, steel or maybe plastic and paints as raw materials to make your products. We do the same thing, but we use raw materials like sugar, butter, peanut butter, pecans and peanuts; and I’m guessing our finished products taste much better than yours.
John Gilbert moved to Jackson from Findlay, Ohio in the late nineteenth century, and in 1900 opened a diner and established Gilbert Chocolates in downtown Jackson. Keep in mind that milk chocolate was invented in 1875, a mere 25 years previously. This makes Jackson the proud home of not just the finest, but one of the oldest chocolate companies in Michigan, in the United States, and even the world.
John’s German mother was a noted candy maker, and John Gilbert adapted her recipes and techniques to his plant. All the recipes focused on the taste of the finished products, the wonderful blend of chocolate and the creams, nuts, toffees and caramels, not precise measurement of ingredients. If you ever have the privilege of touring our factory, make sure to ask our staff about the joys of making candy with measurements like “five large handfuls” or “fill the red bowl to the line”. At Gilbert Chocolates, we still use those 100-year-old recipes every day. We cook our candies and mix them by hand, just like John Gilbert did 100 years ago.
John Gilbert was a hands-on manager, handling sales, procurement, and production. Quality was most important to him as is evidenced by his quality policy. When he needed to buy marble tables for his candy making, he travelled to the quarry in Italy and picked out the slab himself. I’ve got to say he made pretty good choices, because we use those very same marble slabs every day as we carefully follow John Gilbert’s cream, toffee, caramel and cherry cordial recipes.
In fact, nearly every piece of equipment we use was originally purchased by John Gilbert himself. Our cream extruder was made 100 years ago. Two years ago we got around to Teflon coating it. Our caramel cutter has seen thousands and thousands of pounds of caramels over the years. Nearly every month someone comes into one of our stores and tells us how they, or their mother, or their aunt used to be a “cutter” at Gilbert Chocolates.
We do have one new machine, the chocolate enrober; it’s only 51 years old.
One of the most lasting elements of John Gilbert’s legacy is his influence on our commitment to quality and to our customers. Quoting from the 1926 Gilbert Policy:
- To make package chocolates of only one quality – the finest;
- To use none but the best materials regardless of cost;
- To exercise unusual care in every detail.
Over the years, Gilbert Chocolates has produced A LOT of chocolate candies. During World War 2, Gilbert’s chocolates were given to thousands of American soldiers as they marched across Europe. During the war, this added up to more than 250,000 pounds per year. 250,000 pounds just to the troops, do you have any idea how much chocolate that is – we only make and sell about 25,000 pounds annually today.
But John Gilbert’s chocolate legacy extends beyond Jackson. In the 1920’s Gilbert Chocolates opened a factory in southern California. And while the plant is long since closed, the impact John Gilbert had on California candy making continues to this day. While he was in California, John Gilbert met and became friends with Mary See, the founder of See’s Candies. In fact, Mary asked for his help in setting up her commercial candy making operation, which he gladly did. Today See’s Candy’s has over 200 retail stores, mostly on the West Coast. And it is still good candy, in fact I’d say it is the second best candy I’ve had.
But we wouldn’t be here tonight honoring the legacy of John Gilbert without the commitment of two very important Jackson families. Helga Austin worked for John Gilbert at Gilbert Chocolates for years, and she tells us that John Gilbert would be standing there at the door each morning welcoming the employees to work; I suspect he was making sure they were all on time. (Pause)
After John Gilbert died in the 1960’s, Helga purchased Gilbert Chocolates, and moved it to our current location on Ackerson Lake Drive. She preserved the recipes, and the equipment, and the quality that was, and is, Gilbert Chocolates. In 1991, Helga opened a new store in the Packa Plaza, now Jackson Crossing Mall, and kept the Gilbert Chocolates name strong and growing here in Jackson. Without Helga, John Gilbert’s legacy would be lost.
Bill and Scott Blakemore picked up the mantle of Gilbert Chocolates from Helga Austin in 2003. They expanded the wholesale line, modernized and standardized the packaging, and because of their efforts, Gilbert Chocolates remains a Jackson icon.
And now it’s our turn. Sally and I have picked up the mantle and are determined to stay true to the legacy of John O Gilbert. What does that mean? Well for one it means that we are committed to quality and to our customers, Gilbert Chocolates will continue to be the Best Chocolate in Michigan, 116 years and counting. It means we are committed to restoring the name of Gilbert Chocolates throughout southern Michigan. So today there is a Gilbert Chocolates store in the Meridian Mall in Lansing.
And it means that Gilbert Chocolates is committed to Jackson. Our employees and their families live here. We purchase our ingredients from Dawn Foods, another iconic Jackson Company. Anderson Printing makes our inserts, our candy wrappers, and our flavor guides. Polly Food Stores sell our candy and sells us other ingredients that our customers love to see covered in our fine chocolates. Can anyone say “Chocolate Covered Potato Chips”?
And our customers live here. From the corporations that use us to supply their Christmas gifts, to the small child who comes into the factory every summer Friday morning for “just a small piece Sir”. Gilbert Chocolates belongs to Jackson.
So the legacy of John Gilbert is part of the legacy of Jackson. And Gilbert Chocolates is proud and honored to belong to both.
Gilbert Chocolates, a favorite in Jackson, MI and Okemos, MI, is pleased to announce that Gilbert Chocolates can now be purchased at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.
“I am so pleased we could make a special box of chocolates just for the Grand Hotel” said owner, Brian Krichbaum. “The box features the hotel on the front and makes a really nice gift or souvenir of one’s stay at the hotel.”
Gilbert Chocolates, the oldest chocolate company in the state of Michigan, and The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, are both steeped in Michigan history. Both businesses have been serving Michigan residents and tourists for more than a century.
Mackinac Island offers a step back in time to thousands of visitors every year who are looking for a relaxing vacation. The tourists know the fine quality and exceptional service they can receive at local shops and at the Grand Hotel, so it seemed natural to offer a custom-designed box of quality Gilbert Chocolates as one of the souvenirs of the island.
When John O. Gilbert started his company over 100 years ago, the finest quality ingredients, best materials, and careful attention to every detail were his included in his production standards. Those traditions continue today with the current owners, who still offer many of the secret recipes originally developed by the founder. Customers can buy chocolates online through the website, as well as their two local retail stores. Select vendors also provide the Michigan-made candy at their stores and gift shops throughout the state.
Gilbert Chocolates specializes in old-fashioned hand-made chocolate creams, caramels, and toffees as well as new items such as chocolate covered potato chips. Always inventing, Gilbert’s newest introduction is the “chocolate pasty”.
Tourists to the Grand Hotel and Mackinac Island enjoy taking a bit of Michigan back home with them. Gilbert Chocolates designs many custom-boxes for special events, corporations, and tourist attractions, sharing a bit of history and information inside each box that is appropriately customized.
Originally published on April 16, 2014 at MLive: http://www.mlive.com/business/jackson-lansing/index.ssf/2014/04/five_things_you_didnt_know_abo_7.html
JACKSON, MI — Gilbert Chocolates, currently located in the Jackson Crossing, has been an institution in the Jackson community since 1900. It was founded by John O. Gilbert and originally was located in downtown Jackson.
Brian Krichbaum and his wife, Sally, purchased the business in November. Krichbaum said he understands the tradition the store holds in the community, and the responsibility to keep the quality high.
“It’s not really our company; it’s Jackson’s company,” Krichbaum said. “We just happen to be running it right now. The support of the community is pretty amazing.”
Krichbaum said many customers support the store, specifically because of its rich tradition, as well as for its amazing reputation for top-quality chocolate.
“My favorites are the orange crèmes and the raspberry creams,” he said. “And based upon the number that we sell, those are probably the favorites for everyone.”
While many know about Gilbert’s long history and tasty chocolate creams, there are many other little known facts that Krichbaum recently shared:
The Gilbert’s chocolate factory is located at 273 Ackerson Lake Drive, south of Jackson, in a 1,200-square foot building that used to be a cottage. Tours are available at the factory, which runs between three and five days a week, depending on the season. “It’s a fun place to work,” Krichbaum said of the chocolate factory. Many of the recipes and some of the equipment used today are more than 100 years old, he added.
The business recently introduced chocolate-covered Doritos. “We opened a store in the Meridian Mall in November and the teenagers there just kept pestering us about, ‘Why don’t you have chocolate-covered Doritos; you have chocolate-covered potato chips.’ So we started making them and they sold well.” Gilbert’s also has cayenne-covered pecan clusters among its other unusual delicacies.
Gilbert Chocolates had a huge contract with the U.S. Army in the 1940. “We supplied a quarter of a million pounds of chocolate to the Army during World War II that they passed out to the soldiers as a morale booster,” Krichbaum said. “They shipped it to the battlefield and they passed out our candy to the troops. And it was all made right here in Jackson.”
About 40 retail stores in Michigan sell Gilbert Chocolates. Many are in Jackson, but some are as far away as Bay City, Battle Creek, Ann Arbor and Mackinac Island.
There are no artificial preservatives in Gilbert Chocolates. “It doesn’t last as long, but it doesn’t have to. It turns over really fast. At Christmas time and Valentine’s Day, we have a hard time keeping it here.”
Originally Published February 26, 2014 at MeridianTimes: http://news.jrn.msu.edu/meridiantimes/2014/02/26/3822/
Valentine’s Day was a special day in Meridian Township, not only for the couples fallen madly in love but for the businesses catering to their epic V-Day plans.
While many restaurants were booked up for days in advance without a trace of Valentine’s Day advertising and Hallmark shops were packed full with last-minute shoppers, other businesses turned to specials to gain the impressive holiday clientele.
Gilbert Chocolates in Meridian Mall received an enormous amount of attention this year with its chocolate-covered strawberries available for Valentine’s Day. The store does not offer these year-round, so V-Day was a special time to purchase Gilbert’s homemade, preservative-free chocolate strawberries.
“There’s such a demand for it,” manager Lonnie Kellogg said. “I’ve seen it for myself these past few days. It’s the craziest thing.”
Gilberts prepared over 150 boxes of chocolate-covered strawberries this year, with eight in a box. The store even had to make more after its initial estimate, Kellogg said.
