Cherry and chocolate jubilee

MOSES LAKE — Jeannie Olson still hears from people who never knew there was a chocolate factory in town.

"A lot of people were very, very surprised," said the manager of the Cherry and Chocolate Factory.

The business, formerly located on Stratford Avenue under the name of the Great Northwest Chocolate Factory, opened in March under its new name, owned by Bigfork, Mont.-based Jerry and Marilyn Bowman.

The Bowmans have orchards in Moses Lake, Kennewick and Bigfork. Jerry spends half his time in Moses Lake, Olson said.

"We own quite a few orchards," Olson said. "We're trying to incorporate as much of the cherries into chocolates as we can."

That includes cherry chocolate fudge, cherry vanilla fudge and other cherry products canned and fresh cherries. Eventually, Olson said, there is a plan to have cherries flash frozen, which she said instantly freezes the cherries, but they maintain their shape and taste when thawed.

Other offerings include homemade fudge, candy business cards, pre-made candies, jellybeans and gift baskets.

In July, the operation moved to its location at 1120 Marina Drive. Olson said the move has surpassed initial expectations, and there are plans for expansion within the 18,500 square-foot facility for jelly and jam production if and when the flash-freezing equipment arrives, as well as offering baked goods

"Everybody was very, very hesitant when I moved down here, because they didn't think we would have the traffic," she said. "I've had more traffic here than I did over there."

Olson estimated consumer traffic has increased 100 percent.

"With them doing all the building down here … that's made a lot of difference," she said, pointing to area housing developments and plans for a grocery store and the Crosswater Landing retail site. "It was a very, very good move for us. It was scary, but we did it."

Olson explained that she had been helping the business' owner off and on for the past year. When Bigfork, Mont.- business and orchard owners Jerry and Marilyn Bowman took over, they coaxed Olson out of nine months of retirement.

"I gave him every reason why I couldn't work," she said of Jerry Bowman. "When I gave him all the reasons, he said, 'When can you start?'"

Truth be told, it really doesn't sound like it took all that much coaxing. Olson said she was going "crazy" during retirement, because she enjoys interacting with a lot of people, something which comes in abundance at her job.

"I get to meet with different people from the ages of the little kids across the street all the way up to my 90-year-old senior citizens that come in with their kids," she said. "I think they like it because we give out the samples to them, so they can try them. The senior citizens are the favorite for that one. They like to try."

The Cherry and Chocolate Factory is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.