Coming Soon: A Chocolate Factory in Warren

Most things are improved with a layer of chocolate, but anyone who has been to a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory can attest the apple could be the best.

The company is famous for its variations on that chocolate-covered idea, and by the end of the month, Warren residents will be able to stop by the Cold Stone Creamery store, on Mountain Boulevard, and try a caramel- or chocolate-covered apple. Or marshmallow. Or strawberry. Or chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick—why not?

"Anything I can dip, I can sell," Cold Stone co-owner Abby Bush said.

Bush is in Durango, Colo., at the company headquarters this week, getting trained in, among other things, how to get all those goodies covered in chocolate and/or caramel. As she learns the right way to mix the company's products, workers at the Mountain Boulevard store are rejiggering the counters and kitchen to accomodate the new products.

Bush said Cold Stone and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory are owned by the same company, and when she and a partner purchased the Warren Cold Stone in 2012, the rights to open a Chocolate Factory came with it.

"It's a co-brand," Bush said. "Not all franchisees can hold it down but this location can."

She noted the primary sales seasons for the two companies are more-or-less opposite, with the ice cream doing well in warm months and the chocolate sales spiking in colder months. "They don't cannibalize each other," she said.

The store will also looking to do catering, with themed events.   

Before the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory sales start at the end of the month, Bush is inviting customers to "like" the Warren Cold Stone Facebook page, or upload a photo of their favorite treat on the Instagram page for ColdStone_Warren to get a 10 percent discount.