THE IMPACT OF BROADBAND: JOBS EDITION Now Hiring
A taste of excellence
CHOCOLATE FACTORY NOW OPEN IN SPENCER BY LISA SAVAGE
T
he truffle-making class was one of the social things to do in Berkeley, California. It was close to home for David and Leslie Senk, so they signed up. After the couple took the class, they were inspired to try their hands at making non-dairy, white chocolate truffles and bought the white chocolate needed to make them. “The non-dairy, white chocolate we bought was horrendous,” he says. So they decided to make their own. Their own was much better, and with the success, they wondered if they could make their own dark chocolate. More than 2,400 miles and thousands of chocolate-making hours later, the couple moved their chocolate factory last year to Spencer. The Senks moved their successful chocolate-making business, Arete Fine Chocolate (pronounced ar-eh-tee’), from Northern California. They also opened The Little Chocolate Shop, a small retail location, to sell some of their products and other tasty treats from local bakers and budding chefs. For now, it’s only open on Saturday mornings. There was a buzz in Spencer when locals learned the California
David Senk, along with his wife Leslie, moved from California to Tennessee in May 2018 to start their premium chocolate-making business, Arete Fine Chocolate, in the historic Haston Block building in downtown Spencer. 12 | May/June 2019
couple had purchased the old Haston Block building downtown for a chocolate factory, expanding the number of small businesses in Spencer. The first question was, “Why Spencer?” Senk says. The next question — when could they get a taste? “People would ask, ‘When are you going to be open so we can buy some chocolate?’” he says. “After about 500 people walked away with a long face when we told them we make the chocolate and sell it wholesale, we decided to try our hand at a small retail shop, too. We had never done retail, and it evolved quickly.”
WHY SPENCER The Senks grew up in Michigan and knew each other in high school but went their separate ways. He lived in California and she lived in Florida when they reconnected about 11 years ago. She moved to California in 2008, and they married the next year. He was a chemical engineer in the printed circuit board industry, and she was a dental assistant. They were looking for a change when they fell in love with the art of fine-chocolate making. Arete, the Greek word for excellence, exemplified their goals. Arete Fine Chocolate opened four years ago in Northern California. “We knew we would one day relocate to be closer to our family, and we were looking for some kind of business we could take with us wherever we went,” he says. They wanted a central location close to family. With children in Nashville, Knoxville and Kentucky, Spencer was ideal. They wanted to find a building that reminded them of their hometown of Milford, where the businesses often were downstairs and business owners lived on the second floor. His wife discovered the Haston Block building quite by accident in an online search. “It was listed in the wrong category,” he says. They flew to Tennessee, toured the building and bought it right away. Ben Lomand Connect
