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After eleven months in Chisholm, construction on our chocolate kitchen has finally begun.
When Aaron and I moved here last year, we knew the building would need significant work before it could become the chocolate factory we envisioned. Rather than rushing in with hammers, we spent the past year doing the slower but necessary work first: identifying contractors, collecting bids, refining the kitchen design, and working through approvals with the state and the grant programs helping fund the project.
Now that the kitchen plans have been reviewed and approved by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the project has moved from drawings on paper to real progress inside the building.
The first step was demolition.
The crew began by removing the interior wood decking and an auxiliary room. It always pains us to remove something of value like the well-built decking, but it wasn't functional for our purposes and would have made the buildout that much more expensive. Removing it opened up the room and gave us more space for the functional kitchen area.
Next came the drop ceiling, which had been installed decades ago. That moment was one of the most satisfying parts of the entire process so far.
When the ceiling panels came down, the room suddenly felt twice as large—and now has an echo. Hidden above the drop ceiling were the building's original stamped tin ceiling tiles: beautiful, textured metal panels that date back to the early life of the building. Discoveries like that are one of the joys of working in a historic structure. Those ceiling tiles are staying.
Also revealed were the glass blocks that face the street, visible from the storefront with the work we did last fall. They are currently painted over on the outside, which we may uncover to allow for more light to enter the space.
With the ceiling opened up, the team moved on to removing the flooring so we can begin rebuilding the space right away.
The new kitchen will include a tile floor in the food preparation areas for durability and sanitation, and a vinyl floor in the food storage area. We'll also be installing the commercial sinks, drains, and plumbing required for food production approval. Every element of the layout—from the placement of sinks to the direction of the drains—has already been reviewed as part of the state approval process, so the work happening now is about bringing that plan into reality.
It's been a long road to reach this moment. Taking the time to line up the right contractors, confirm funding, and secure approvals meant we could start construction with confidence instead of uncertainty.
And now the transformation has officially begun.
Next up: plumbing, flooring, and the installation of the sinks and drainage systems that will turn this empty space into a fully functional chocolate kitchen.
We'll continue sharing photos and updates as the project progresses. It's exciting to finally see the building beginning its next chapter—and we're grateful to have so many of you following along as Intrigue Chocolate grows here on the Iron Range.
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