by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
Shugar Shack Chocolatier officially opened Dec. 22 without much fanfare, but taste Susann Marino’s homemade confections and find out what downtown Jacksonville has been missing.
The shop in The Carling at 31 W. Adams St., offers homemade confections from chocolate Shoo-Fly Pizza to Chocopop (chocolate-covered popcorn).
Marino, president of Shugar Shack and a certified confectioner, designs everything involving her treats from the chocolate to the wrapper. She makes the products off-site and brings them into her shop trademarked with the bright red, yellow and green “flavor orbs” which decorate the shop.
Shugar Shack offers many desserts and treats. Her Shoo-Fly Pizza and Chocopop both have stories from her childhood behind them, which are printed on the labels she designed. Marino also makes pretzel twists, boxed chocolates, five flavors of chocolate and fudge. The Shugar Shack also sells ice cream, which isn’t homemade, but Marino said she intends to bring in her own ice cream soon, as well as candied apples.
“I’m just seeing what people are interested in,” said Marino. “I hope to have an in-house production facility down the road.”
Beyond sugar, spice and everything nice, Marino says she wants her shop to be an America chocolate company, focused on hiring people who want to learn the trade.
“I want to create jobs in the Jacksonville community — a business for people who want to learn a trade so they can have a lifelong skill. I’d like to develop a production facility that is chocolate-, confection- and pastry-based,” she said.
Marino wants to find a facility downtown and hire people who want to learn the trade — and she’s willing to foot the bill.
“It’s not just schools, there are schools all over the United States. But it’s by association that people will learn this trade,” she said.
She has a Peruvian friend who is a master chocolatier willing to come to the United States when she has a facility to educate on the art of chocolate. Marino notes that Peruvians are ancestors of the Aztecs, originators of the cocoa bean.
“This (store) is just a prototype of what I intend to do,” said Marino.
She has been selling chocolate creations for three years through catering and even did testing at local flea markets. Marino and her husband have been in the restaurant business for 30 years. She has been active in confections for the past five years.