Known for its acclaimed brand of fresh, handmade European style chocolates, Schakolad Chocolate Factory is located in Southport Shopping Center, Fort Lauderdale. However, going into this chocolate shop, one will not just find the chocolate taste of Europe, but the international tastes of Latin America and Turkey.
The owner of the franchise, Baruch Schaked, began making chocolate in 1969. Working for his father-in-law, Gustavo Bar, the owner of one of South America’s biggest chocolate factories, he started his career as a chocolatier in Argentina. Mr. Schaked took part in classes and seminars at schools around Germany, where he traveled widely and learned the craft of chocolate manufacturing. His passion for chocolate making was continued by his family and then passed on to Ahmed Hamdan who bought the shop.
Hamdan bought Schakolad Chocolate Factory a year ago“My wife Sara always bought chocolate from this store for her clients which is how I got to know about it,” he said. Hamdan’s store includes Turkish sweets such as Turkish delights, baklava and Turkish coffee in addition to chocolate.
“Our chocolate is made in the store, our Turkish delights are brought from Istanbul and even for our baklava, a Turkish guy comes and makes it,” Hamdan said.
Senior Isa Walchi, who works part-time at the store, was able to gain a support system and lifelong friendships through her job.
“My favorite part about my job is definitely my work family; Moe and Sara have been so kind to me, always sharing their culture and cooking for me and cheering me on at school or whatever I do outside the workplace,” she said.
“This business is unique because we hand dip everything in our store,” Walchi said. “Most chocolate companies get their stuff imported from a main store or use machines to make their chocolate but at Schakolad we put so much time and care into making each individual truffle through cooking them, dipping them and decorating them.”
Hamdan prepares four pieces of baklava for a new customer. “People love to try the Turkish sweets they see on social media, which is why I think they are a great hit,” he said. (Photo/Kayra Dayi)
Senior Isa Walchi prepares the cherry flavored chocolates. “I used to be a regular customer here and because I loved the shop so much, I applied for part-time,” Walchi said. (Photo/Kayra Dayi)
