Gilbert Chocolates Opens New Factory
and Retail Store in Downtown Jackson

Brian Krichbaum talked about the move of Gilbert Chocolates to their new downtown location at 233 N. Jackson St., Jackson MI. The ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening occurred on Friday, October 14th.

The new location has 2,200 square feet of production space for hand crafting the gourmet chocolates, plus 800 square feet of space dedicated to a new retail store.

Store hours will be 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday.

gilbert-chocolates-owners-announce-the-purchase-of-downtown-jackson-building

In the Spring of 2016, Gilbert Chocolates owners Brian and Sally Krichbaum announced the plans of Gilbert Chocolates Company Returning to Downtown Jackson during late 2016.

gilbert-chocolates-before-renovations-in-jackson-mi

Here’s what the downtown Jackson 100-year-old building looked like before the renovation project began.

alpha-design-studios-with-brian-krichbaum

Mike, from Alpha Design Studios, LLC in Jackson, helped us with the design work for our new retail store and chocolate factory.

gilbert-chocolates-owner-brian-krichbaum-painting-the-front-of-building

Gilbert Chocolate’s new factory started with exterior painting at the top of the store front. (Thanks to George at P&T Fitness for loaning us the ladder).

bob-from-bruton-electric-at-gilbert-chocolates-in-jackson-mi

Here’s our new friend, Bob, from the great folks at Bruton Electric right here in Jackson. Bob made sure everything was wired properly so that our chocolate equipment operates well at the new factory.

sandblasting-interior-walls-original-brick-beauty-at-gilbert-chocolates

Faber Sandblasting from Rives Junction took our old painted, brick walls and turned them into a beautiful work of art.

a-and-a-plumbing-working-at-gilbert-chocolates-in-jackson-mi

A&A Plumbing provided the next phase of system installation to get our factory ready in downtown Jackson.

5 Leprechauns removing the front facade of Gilbert Chocolates building renovation

The old front façade of the building was removed, in preparation for new windows. Thanks to Andy Johnson of 5 Leprechauns and the guys at Jackson Glassworks.

exposed-front-facade-of-gilbert-chocolates-in-downtown-jackson

A bare-naked front to what will soon be a beautiful renovation for Gilbert Chocolates in Jackson Michigan. We were so happy to discover cast-iron pillars on the front that were included in the original turn-of-the 20th century building design. These, along with the antique-green porcelain shop lights we discovered inside, will bring even more history alive again in this historical building.

Jackson Glassworks installed the new storefront glass at Gilbert Chocolates in Jackson MI

The new store front was installed for Gilbert Chocolates in downtown Jackson. Thank you Jackson Glassworks for the great work!

stairway-construction-at-gilbert-chocolates-in-jackson-mi

New stairs were constructed so we can get upstairs to our non-perishable warehousing area.

original-hardwood-floors-inside-the-century-old-building-downtown-jackson

Refinishing the hardwood floors complemented the original brick walls of this historical building in downtown Jackson, MI.

interior-wall-construction-for-the-new-bathroom-inside-gilbert-chocolates

Basic construction of interior walls sectioned off the bathrooms in our building downtown Jackson.

getting-the-chocolate-preparation-area-ready-with-inside-construction-tasks

Fresh paint and a good scrubbing prepared our chocolate factory area for production that is scheduled to begin in October of 2016.

senator-debbie-stabenow-visiting-gilbert-chocolates-new-location-in-downtown-jackson-mi

State Senator Debbie Stabenow saw our new facility before it was even finished! We were honored to have her visit Gilbert Chocolates in Jackson during her tour of local businesses.

moving-gilbert-chocolates-away-from-ackerson-lake-road-location

Bittersweet memories – after 52 years, we are moving Gilbert Chocolates away from this location on Ackerson Lake Drive to our larger factory and retail store in downtown Jackson Michigan.

moving-product-from-ackerson-lake-road-to-downtown-jackson-mi

The Gilbert Chocolates factory move happened in many shifts, with help from many employees and volunteers.

moving-large-table-into-new-jackson-location-of-gilbert-chocolates

It took a lot of planning and muscle to organize the move of everything, including this huge table that is used for packaging each individual Gilbert Chocolates for your enjoyment!

chocolate-enrobbing-machine-relocated-for-gilbert-chocolates-in-jackson-mi

Our famous Gilbert Chocolates are covered using this wonderful, original enrobing machine. We had to dis-assemble it into three separate parts in order to move it to the new location.

getting-ready-to-move-john-gilberts-original-marble-tabletop-that-originated-from-italy

What started in Italy as marble hand-selected by our founder, John O. Gilbert himself, this marble tabletop was in the original Jackson factory in the early days of the company. Over 50 years ago, it was moved to the Ackerson Lake Drive factory, and in September, 2016, it was carefully prepared for the move to our new factory and retail store in downtown Jackson.

900-pound-marble-tabletop-original-from-john-gilbert

Marble helps keep the chocolate cool as we prepare each individual piece for you to enjoy. Here’s our huge, 900-pound marble table that survived the move to downtown Jackson!

Maranda Osterholm in the new Gilbert Chocolates kitchen

Maranda Osterholm in the new Gilbert Chocolates kitchen in downtown Jackson!

Crissy working in the new Gilbert Chocolates candy bar labeling station

Crissy working in the new Gilbert Chocolates candy bar labeling station at our new production facility in downtown Jackson!

Gilbert Chocolates new candy display case in Jackson MI

We custom-made the chocolate candy display cases that will be in our new retail location at 233 N. Jackson St., in Jackson MI

Old Gilbert Chocolates sign

An old Gilbert Chocolates sign adorns our new location!

Gilbert Chocolates the Sweet Soul of Jackson

Just in time for our grand opening – Brian Krichbaum hung up our new banner outside the building with our tagline “The Sweet Soul of Jackson”.