Longtime local candy company The Best Chocolate in Town closed its Mass Ave store Sunday after being acquired by Indianapolis-based Newfangled Confections.
Elizabeth Garber, who founded Best Chocolate in Town 22 years ago, announced the sale of her company Sunday night on Facebook.
In addition to the closure of its 13-year-old store, Best Chocolate in Town will move its production facilities from the Ruckus makerspace at 1417 Commerce Ave. to the Newfangled Confections headquarters at 1340 N Illinois St., Garber said.
Newfangled Confections, founded in 2012 by Carrie Abbott, is known for it popular signature Frittle candy—a cross between peanut brittle and peanut fudge.
Abbott has developed a large distribution network for Frittle and some of her company’s other products. Frittle is sold on Amazon.com and at dozens of retailers, including Target, World Market, Fresh Thyme and Market District, among others.
That network will now be used to sell some of Best Chocolate in Town’s top products.
Garber has known Abbott since 2008, when Abbott interned at Best Chocolate in Town while a culinary arts student at Ivy Tech.
“It has been a joy to watch [Abbott] grow Newfangled Confections into a nationally recognized brand,” Garber said on Facebook. “I can’t think of anyone who better embodies the values of ‘hand made, heart felt’ that I’ve believed in for more than two decades. I’m honored that she would carry on the business, and excited to see her vision for it.”
Garber started her candy business in Edinburgh in 1998 but moved it to warehouse-style space in Franklin a year later. She relocated the business to a 900-square-foot shop at 880 Massachusetts Ave. in 2007. She moved production out of the store space to the Ruckus location in 2017.
Garber will stay on as a consultant until Best Chocolate in Town is fully merged into Newfangled Confections.
“Next week and over the coming months, I’ll be with Carrie and our combined production team members as part of the transition to continue serving our city and community with the tastiest treats you’ve ever had,” Garber said. “And after that, I’ll be starting a new chapter of my own!”
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I knew there was something up as the last few times i went to buy the store on Mass ave was nearly empty and the employees just said they had no control over product. Are plans to have the product in stores?
“Abbott has developed a large distribution network for Frittle and some of her company’s other products. Frittle is sold on Amazon.com and at dozens of retailers, including Target, World Market, Fresh Thyme and Market District, among others.
That network will now be used to sell some of Best Chocolate in Town’s top products.”
It appears so…
Bottleworks will impact all the businesses along that end of Mass Ave.
I wonder if Carrie Abbott is related to the people who own Abbott’s Candies in Hagerstown? Best caramels ever.
This is a real loss for the Avenue, but it sounds like it will be good for the brand moving forward.
Thanks Elizabeth for all you did to help make Mass Ave a diverse and special place over the last 20 years.
Elizabeth G. and Best Chocolate in Town have been awesome community members for that business’s entire existence. She/they will be deliciously missed!
Hopefully they will go organic. When buying high end chocolate, it seems only reasonable.