Their chocolate boxes are found in stores like Deseret Book, and now, Florence’s Exquisite Chocolates is passing to the next generation.
Florence Manwaring and her husband, Alan Var, started the chocolate shop in 1981. They eventually passed the business on to their son Brian and his wife, Michelle. Now, they’re passing it on to their son, Jordan. They said the timing is right.
“We're worn out and tired, getting ready to sell it actually to another couple out of Pocatello and then our oldest son joined in and decided that he did not want to have the business go to strangers or something else and felt really strongly it needed to stay in the family and so he's changed his whole life and is moving here and he's jumped in and is learning all the basics,” they said.
The Manwarings said they will continue to focus on fine chocolates with cream centers, nuts, caramels and cherry cordials. They also make haystacks, and a special item called Princess Michelle, a buttercream center dipped in chocolate and rolled in toasted coconut. These products as well as their hard work and local chocolate shop mentality established them as a tradition-maker and beloved business.
“We actually had a customer that actually had his favorite chocolates buried with him,” they said. “They have a little drawer in the casket, and he put our chocolates in that drawer so when he gets resurrected and the chocolates get resurrected, he’s got his favorite chocolate right there.”
While their busiest seasons are usually Christmas and Valentine’s Day, they are open all year round from Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. They do local deliveries and custom orders. Sugar-free is also an option. To visit them or to learn more about them, click here.