by Liz Daube
Staff Writer
Peter Behringer’s Workspace is cool. To be specific, it’s exactly 65-degrees-Fahrenheit cool.
The president of local, family-owned Peterbrooke Chocolatier often visits the company’s factory on San Marco Avenue to check on production. Temperature is an important factor in making and maintaining quality chocolate, according to Behringer. He knows all about the cocoa confection, after all – he grew up around the Peterbrooke business his mother named after Behringer and his sister, Brooke, in 1983.
“In order to get the chocolate to the right consistency, the temperature has to be manipulated,” he said. “You raise it, lower it and raise it again.”
The factory has to be a little cold to prevent the chocolate from melting, he added. Otherwise, the chocolate winds up with white swirls and an odd taste, what Behringer calls “fat blooms.” To get their dark, milk and white chocolate blends just right, Peterbrooke workers use machines that can “temper” up to 5,400 pounds of chocolate per day.
That amount of candy may seem like a lot, but Behringer said the demand for goods from his San Marco factory keeps them producing all day long – especially during the holidays, while Peterbrooke is in the midst of a major expansion.
The private company started a franchising venture about three years ago, according to Behringer. So far, Peterbrooke’s 17 franchise stores – some already open, some on the way – are located throughout North and Central Florida. But Behringer hopes to have a total of 32 by the end of next year, and double the number of franchises in following years.
“We’re not overly optimistic. We want to be pleasantly surprised,” he said, adding the company is looking for a larger production facility to keep up with the new stores. “When we didn’t get the [old Haydon Burns] library, we had to go to Plan B, and that probably should have been Plan A.”
Peterbrooke originally made a bid to purchase the downtown library in 2005 and lost to the Atkins Group – only to be offered another chance at the building later that year, which eventually ended in failed negotiations in 2006. Behringer said the company has still managed to expand by setting up in-store facilities for 30 to 40 percent of its production, where individual owners hand-dip items like cookies and strawberries.
“It adds theater to the environment and makes the franchises that much more profitable,” he said.
Behringer said he thinks Peterbrooke can compete with larger chocolate makers like Godiva because his company attracts a broad variety of customers. He wants to create “a national brand” for chocolate “much like Starbucks did with coffee.”
Peterbrooke made $3.7 million in sales last year, and Behringer said about 35-40 percent came from the holiday season. In order to prepare, the factory speeds up production of everything from truffles to pretzel rods starting in September and suspends tours in the weeks preceding Christmas. For this entire month, Behringer said, Peterbrooke will churn out about two tons of its popular chocolate-covered popcorn each day.
“By the time December rolls around, we’re just focusing on popcorn,” said Behringer. “We’ll make it all day long.”