The Chocolate Spectrum Boutique & Academy recently hosted a grand opening celebration at 6725 W. Indiantown Road, Suite 38, in the Jupiter West Plaza at Interstate 95 and Indiantown Road in Jupiter.
The store offers artisan chocolates and features a chocolate café, which serves gourmet chocolate-inspired pastries, beverages and coffees, made in part by adults with autism and special needs.
“This is a dream come true,” owner Valerie Herskowitz said. “The Chocolate Spectrum began as an online-only model, but we have been blessed with such amazing demand for our products, it just made sense for us to open a retail store.”
Herskowitz is both a pastry chef and a veteran speech pathologist, as well as mother to her adult son, who has severe autism.
The shop will have weekly chocolate-making classes for children and adults, including those with special needs and those without. The store will also offer private parties, mom and dad nights out, middle and high school chocolatier classes, team building experiences and field trips.
For adults with autism and other developmental disabilities, the Chocolate Spectrum Academy will offer a formal 12-month Chocolate, Pastry, Barista and Restaurant Services Vocational Training Program, in which students can learn about chocolate production, baking and beverage preparation.
The Chocolate Spectrum opened on Tuesday, June 28. Its chocolates are also available online at www.thechocolatespectrum.com. For more info., call (954) 980-0134.
ABOVE: Owner Valerie Herskowitz instructs her son, Blake.
