With a doughnut shop, coffee houses and plenty of antiques, it's hard to anticipate what a stroll down State Street might bring, though chances are a little taste of European charm will be on that list.
Chocolaterie Stam is the newest shop in Uptown, bringing European fine chocolate to Westerville.
It is this charming European feel that attracted Kris Michel, resident of 10 years, and her sister, Anna Nelson, who worked as her nanny. While on a trip to Iowa, the sisters paid a visit to a chocolate store, though what they left with was far from a bag of pecan clusters or any other generic chocolate treat.
Upon their entry, they fell in love with the European feel and elegant style of this store, and asked to speak to a manager.
Hailing from Amsterdam, the Stam family has been crafting fine chocolate since 1913. The first American store was opened in Des Moines, Iowa, where shipments of chocolate are received from Belgium and made into bon bons to be shipped to the American stores.
The business is still run by family members and only five stores are run by "family friends," with Michel and Nelson being their newest addition as of Dec. 2.
All of the stores have the same general stylistic elements, though each is altered slightly to best represent the area in which they reside. Each has the same wallpaper, chandeliers and golden arches, though the Uptown Stam is the proud owner of the most arches.
Nelson said, "Uptown is very classy and elegant, and we wanted to reflect that."
In addition to adding a new level of culture to each area inhabited by a Chocolaterie Stam, Tom Stam, who moved to the United States nearly 25 years ago, wants to keep each store as local as possible.
"He wants us to give back," Nelson said. And giving back is exactly what Nelson and Michel plan to do.
"We spent half a week with an Italian gelato chef, and we work with an Italian company for the ingredients, though we also plan on using a local dairy and farmers market for fresh ingredients," Nelson said.
Having a European company in an "all-American" hometown area might seem like a bit of a mismatched situation, though "the Uptown merchants have been too helpful and willing to work with us," Nelson said.
With State Street as one of Westerville's main attractions, it only makes sense that an air of community would infiltrate its storefronts.
"The businesses really compliment each other. We don't serve candy-flavored gelato because there is a Dairy Queen across the street. And we don't serve our full range of coffee because we have coffee shops already on State Street."
Though Stam serves the finest European products (Marzipan from Amsterdam, violet mints from a French company dating back to the 1500s), they proudly serve other State Street merchants' wares such as Java Central's house blend coffee.
Nelson said, "We love all of the merchants. It's so overwhelming that they've been so supportive." t&c;
