A Century of Sweet Success: Li-Lac Chocolates, Celebrates its 100th Anniversary in the City

In 1923– the same year Mars Co. invented the Milky Way chocolate bar and H.B. Reese came up with the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups - George Demetrious, a young Greek immigrant, got off a ship at Ellis Island and arrived in New York. Much like other immigrants at the time, Demetrious came to America with hope and an exceptional talent for making chocolates, a skill he had studied and perfected while in France. Nine years later, he put his practice to use and opened Li-Lac Chocolates in the heart of Greenwich Village, on 120 Christopher Street. And there began the story of New York’s very own French-inspired candy company.

Little did Demetrious know then that one day, the brand would grow to be so loved by New Yorkers, survive a series of world crises across different decades, and still, through it all, hit its 100th-anniversary mark. On the other hand, Anthony Cirone, one of the three co-owners of Li-Lac Chocolate, was confident he’d see this day. “When I bought the company in 2011, I definitely thought we would make it to a hundred years. That was 13 years ago,” he shared over a Zoom interview.

Changing landscapes
Just as the City grew, rose, and fell, experienced a financial crisis, and underwent several structural changes over the years, so did Li-Lac chocolates with it. Over the years, the brand has seen several changes in ownership, manufacturing units, and localities. In 2005, for example, when rents across the city rose, the company had to move from its original home at 120 Christopher Street, where it had been for 81 years, to Jane Street in Manhattan. At the time, the West Village was packed with several storefronts, leaving Li-Lac no room for manufacturing. So, instead, the owners opted for a place south of Sunset Park in Brooklyn and began manufacturing and packing the chocolates there. In an earlier interview with the New York Times, Christ Taylor, one of the three current co-owners of Li-Lac Chocolates, shared that at the time, they were ready to call it quits on New York because “making chocolate in Manhattan (was) no longer viable.”

So, what got them through the crisis? “Its original intention,” says Cirone, “was to create fresh and handmade gourmet chocolates in the city.”

The world may have moved from the age of stationary landlines and telegrams to instant texting and social media. However, inside the chocolate-packed store, it’s still 1923, and chocolates are still handmade using the founder’s original recipes. It’s this practice and regard for tradition that has helped Li-Lac Chocolates retain a loyal customer base, which in many cases spans across generations over the years. “I’ve had some people tell me that they shopped from the store when they were young, and now that they’ve kids and grandkids, they’ve continued the tradition. Almost passing it along across generations,” shares Cirone, who also shares a special relationship with the shop as a former customer turned co-owner.

“Shortly after I moved to New York, I think it was around 1991, I found the store and went in and bought chocolates, and I just loved it,” reflects Cirone. He can’t remember why he liked the place, but in a previous interview, he shared that it was the “Easter bunny that had him hooked.” Cirone continued to shop from the original Greenwich Village store for several years until he bought it in 2011. “I wanted to change careers, and I was looking for a business, and I just kept coming back to it,” he said. It took three years after he first pursued the idea, but it worked out in the end.

Whether it’s a windy day or not, halfway through your walk on 35th Street, the sweet scent of chocolate will guide you toward Li-Lac Chocolates Brooklyn factory. Amidst rows of identical-looking buildings, past the Gowanus Expressway, in an ultra-urban yet very industrial-looking manufacturing space, peeks the lilac logo of Li-Lac Chocolates. With the smell and large windows open windows that allow you a sneak peek of long, chocolate-dripping machines, even before you’ve entered the store, there’s absolutely no mistaking it.

For all its mechanized macho exteriors, though, inside, the chocolate factory is a world apart. At first, you’re greeted by a storefront stocked with over 100 varieties of chocolates, all packed in different shapes, sizes, textures, and flavors. There are chocolate high heels, bunnies, easter eggs – even in October – Halloween-themed candy, and a large glass box with neatly arranged loose candy that transports you to the chocolate-store-lined streets of Belgium. But step beyond the glass front, and you enter New York’s own version of Wonka’s factory minus the fancy and excessive machinery. Instead, you’ll be greeted by chocolatiers Brian and Alexis – depending on the time of the day you’re visiting – working on the brand’s signature buttercrunch candies. They begin this process by weighing the sugar on a weighing scale that’s over 120 years old and whose numbers have noticeably faded over the years. Next, the mix is made using tapioca syrup, roasted almond shavings, and lots of butter, and then gently poured over the white marble table – the very same that Demetrious used in 1923. From here on, the chocolatiers have 15 minutes to shape the candy, cut it into tiny squares, and then dunk them in chocolate and top with roasted almond shavings. And this is only one of the many candies made daily.

Moving ahead, the following two stations have a long wooden table where Asaad Hana works on creating their signature Nonpareils, which are small dollops of chocolate dropped onto a tray of colorful Nonpareils to create bite-sized confections. Meanwhile, at the last station on the stop, Damarys, Rudy, and Gicela work on crafting different-sized and designed molds. Their workstation is surrounded by rows of chocolate turkeys, the Empire State Building, snowmen, and in line with the Halloween theme – a big scary, pumpkin-holding ghost. Molds are a Li-Lac specialty; some date back to the late 1800s, and others have been customized and developed over the years based on special requests and occasions. It’s endlessly fascinating and satisfying to watch the three chocolatiers fill in the molds with either milk, dark, or white chocolate from the tempering machines, tap down to rid them of any air bubbles, and swipe off the excess chocolate in a single swoosh. Each step an art in itself

Damarys began working at the factory four years ago and has always loved working with chocolate, but when the pandemic hit, she had to leave and move back to her home country. “Fortunately,” she tells me, “I got to return and work here again.” Since she’s returned, she’s had a community of friends at work and enjoys doing the work she does.

The rest of the facility is divided into stations for quality check and packaging and additional flat escalator-type enrobing machines, which can coat and cool up to 1000 chocolates an hour – this is also part of the factory visible to those passing by the store from outside.

The factory is also tightly packed with several hundred boxes neatly lined up in rows and spread across the room’s length; when asked what each of these contains, “They’re all cacao for our use,” Cirone explains. The company receives its raw material – cacao – from several parts of the world, mainly from places in Africa and Venezuela. Every morning, a fresh batch of chocolate fountain is made in the tempering machines – which help heat, cool, and mix the chocolate - for the molds, as well as other varieties, and each day, the chocolatiers produce over 2,000 candies that are packed and sent over to five stores in Manhattan.

To watch a factory filled with humans handcrafting, checking, brushing, and packaging each chocolate box is a rare and reassuring sight in 2023. Every time you take a bite or crunch up on devour your next box of Li-Lac’s, you know exactly how it is made, the people that helped make it, and the community that shares it – making customers as much a part of the process as they are of the tasty treat at the end. It’s these ethics, coupled with its quality, that have led to its rising popularity and, in turn, a glowing 100th anniversary of the brand.

Joining the New York Centennial Club
“Our customers have been with us through good times and bad,” says Cirone, who attributes a large part of the company’s success and popularity to its loyal shoppers. A feeling that’s mutual for several customers, as backed by some of their comments on the brand’s Facebook page. “Bringing back fond memories of when I’d go stay with my grandma, she lived in the village on MacDougal St., and we used to walk over to Li-Lac when it was on Christopher St. Chocolate-covered orange slices were her favorite!” wrote Marjorie Mercedes Kemmerer. Eileen Mannix, another long-time customer, shared, “My family is from the west village, my grandmother and grandfather. I am sixty years old, and I have been eating their fudge since I could eat.” Vanessa Lynn Cassidy expressed how the store symbolizes shared moments across three generations in her family. She said, “I’ve been going to this store since I was an infant when it was on Christopher Street. Granted, it is now commercialized, but they still have the best marzipan. The acorns are a traditional treat that I’ve now shared with my child as my parents did with me. Whenever I’m in New York, the Li-Lac is a mandatory stop.” And these are only some of the many reviews the store has received over the years.

Even with all the love and support, the ever-changing regulations and rent increases every year have made it increasingly harder for neighborhood businesses to survive in New York. So, when one not only manages to keep the doors open but is progressively growing and thriving, it’s reason enough to celebrate. But with Li-Lac completing a century in the candy business, there’s double the joy – as are the celebrations lined up. “We have a number of activities and events lined up all through October,” said Cirone. “We’ve developed special packs of vintage chocolate boxes. They contain four items that our founder developed. It’s a limited-edition collection, so once they’re gone, they’re gone. We also have designed an anniversary special tin with an archival photo from the past and some t-shirts. Apart from that, we’re doing one-day celebrations in all our stores, where the first 100 people in line will get a free 20-piece chocolate box,” he continued.

Celebrating Li-Lac’s century at the Chelsea Market
At the second celebratory event, which took place at their Chelsea Market mainstay, a familiar scent of cocoa and a long queue of people guided me to Li-Lac’s storefront. At 9:00 A.M., about an hour before the store was set to open for the event, people had already lined up, saving their spot in the first 100 to snag a 20-piece chocolate box for free. The crowd features everyone from long-time customers, first-timers who had just walked into the market to pick some milk and fruit, curiously fitting themselves in, and tourists who’d have “we got free chocolates” memory to take back along with them. “Back in the day, I would secretly get orange-dipped candies for my boyfriend on Valentine’s Day from this store,” I overhear someone say, and suddenly, I’m reminded how so much of New York’s charm lies in preserving traditions and old-school hits, clutching onto the good old past and living in that sweet nostalgic spot, even in an everchanging landscape, but especially because of the ever-changing landscape.