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Fog City News |
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In the heart of San Francisco's financial district is a newsstand that carries what you would expect - lots of magazines and newspapers but then you notice that the snack area is filled with premium chocolate bars. We are talking a "wall" of chocolate and if you are lucky a chocolate tasting is being held right in the front of the store. And surprise, surprise the owner, Adam Smith, and staff really know their chocolate. |
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What made you build what is undoubtedly the largest and best selection of quality chocolate bars I've found - rivaling the Hall of Bars at Eurochocolate? |
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Well, my goodness, thank
you. It was something that happened very organically, but quite
logically looking back on it. I set out to open the best newsstand
in San Francisco - one that would draw a well-read and international
clientele. And that's exactly what happened. Well, lo and behold,
that clientele had international tastes not just in magazines but
in things like chocolate too!
Once my staff and I began looking into these chocolates we realized
how most Americans had so little exposure to fine chocolate. Within
a year we were offering 100 different premium chocolate bars and
thought, well, that should cover it. Little did we know that was
just the tip of the iceberg!.... I'm often reminded of something
a regular customer once said. He is an avid magazine reader and
has been coming in since Day One. Looking at customers browsing
the chocolate section and shaking his head, he said to me, I can't
tell if this is a magazine store that sells chocolate or it has
become a chocolate store that sells magazines...
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Fog City News carries 200 different bars in stock at all times including bars from the US, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and other countries around the World. |
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Did
you have any formal training in chocolate tasting? |
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I'm happy to say that I don't.
I am the perfect case study of how ANYONE can train themselves to
become a tasting expert. Like anything, you get out of it what you
put into it. If one regularly and consistently tastes chocolate in
a focused, in-depth way then there's no way you can't discover all
the flavor nuances it possesses. Of course, I've also been reading
anything about chocolate that I can get my hands on. It's helpful
to run a store that offers 80+ food magazines.
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Your staff is just as passionate and knowledgeable about chocolate as you are - how do you do that? |
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Every single day, when
they are sampling out product at the counter, or just discussing
chocolate with customers out on the sales floor, they get to witness
new customers' "Aha!" moments when they realize all they
have been missing by consuming mass-market chocolate up until then.
So I think for them it's the thrill of being part of a new, exciting
chocolate movement.
In terms of being knowledgeable, their education is constant.
It has to be to keep up with the passions of our clientele. We conduct
staff tastings 2-3 times a week and we don't just taste product,
we discuss industry news and trends. They read articles and books
that I pass on to them. And, of course, there is no substitute for
the opportunity they have to meet chocolatiers who come to do casual
meet-and-greet events at the store. To hear firsthand how chocolatiers
make their products, or what are their sources of inspiration, is
invaluable. |
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Your Premium Chocolate Passport has a twist from the normal loyalty programs? |
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It's nice - and I think
it's a good business decision - to give something back to loyal
customers. So when the customer buys 10 different chocolate bars
they get the 11th one for free. But my thinking about the Passport
came from the opposite direction of just a volume discount program.
I was noticing that customers would try a few bars and when they
had found one that struck a chord with them they would settle on
that one and never buy anything else. And I thought this was terrible
waste of our selection!
First and foremost, I am always trying to encourage exploration.
When the exploration stops the learning stops. So the twist to the
Passport is that the customer has to buy ten different bars to get
the 11th free bar. The other twist, is that the Passport is more
than just a punch card it's a tasting diary of sorts because we
actually record the names of the bars on the card. That way, the
customer doesn't have to save wrappers, etc. and we can review their
diary with them and discuss what their preferences have been thus
far.
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What
is your personal favorite out of all the bars in your database and why? |
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Ha ha, well we don't really
have favorites at the store. My staff is trained not to have them.
Every bar is completely unique. We enjoy the whole spectrum from
100% unsweetened dark chocolate all the way down to white chocolate.
And every portion of the spectrum has something to offer to tasters
who are open-minded.
The minute you say that you have a favorite means that the exploration
has stopped. In fact, when a customer say Bar X is my favorite,
I will say, oh that's too bad... Maybe it's the bar they have enjoyed
the most - based on what they have tried thus far - because of X,
Y, Z aspects. But most of the time they aren't even aware of, or
can put into words, that those particular aspects are what they
are most attuned to and thus enjoy the most.
By searching through our database of tasting notes most of the
time we can zero in on those aspects and reveal a whole other set
of bars that may be even more interesting than their "favorite."
Then we achieve that fun "Aha!" moment again.
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