Seattle's chocolate scene is changing fast
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Cocoa Legato's cafe lets you peek inside its chocolate factory. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios
Two Seattle craft chocolate makers are expanding their operations this year, in the latest sign of a rebounding local chocolate industry.
Why it matters: When Seattle-born Theo Chocolate closed its Fremont factory in 2023, the city's chocolate future looked uncertain. Now, other makers are helping fill the gap.
Zoom in: In June, Spinnaker Chocolate moved from its small Ravenna facility to a much larger factory and café on Stone Way, not far from where Theo once operated.
- Meanwhile, Cocoa Legato, which opened in Greenwood in April, plans to start selling chocolate online and shipping nationwide this fall. The company is also getting into the wholesale business, which will make its bars available in shops beyond its own café, founder Aaron Lindstrom told Axios.
- And Seattle Chocolate Company, founded in the 1990s, rebranded this year as Maeve, in a sign that legacy makers are also adapting.
What they're saying: The founding of Theo in 2005 — often described as the nation's first organic, fair-trade "bean-to-bar" chocolate maker — established Seattle "as a flagship place for good chocolate," Lindstrom said.
- Bean-to-bar refers to chocolate makers who source their own cocoa beans and then roast, grind and turn them into chocolate themselves.
- Now, companies like Cocoa Legato and Spinnaker are building on that tradition, Lindstrom said.
- "I'm grateful to help carry on the legacy of bean-to-bar chocolate in the city," he said.
Between the lines: Many employees at Cocoa Legato and Spinnaker once worked at Theo — including Lindstrom, who designed the company's educational programs and factory tours. He drew on that experience this summer as Cocoa Legato launched its own tours.
Erin Andrews, founder of Seattle's Indi Chocolate, said those teaching experiences are one of the things that set artisan bean-to-bar makers apart from mass producers.
- "We're not about just throwing a bunch of chocolate bars on shelves," Andrews told Axios. "We really love to be able to teach people about chocolate."
- Her company, which began by making cocoa body butter products in 2010 and added bean-to-bar chocolate a year later, moved into a prominent spot in Pike Place Market's new MarketFront building in 2017.
If you go: Both Cocoa Legato and Spinnaker offer free chocolate tastings, and visitors can book factory tours online — a chance to see Seattle's bean-to-bar craftsmanship up close.
- The rebranded Maeve also offers tours of its factory in Tukwila, while Indi hosts frequent classes and other events at the market.
