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About Us

HERRMANN’S CHOCOLATE LAB is located at 422 and 424 S. Main St. in historic downtown Templeton, California. just off of Highway 101. Halfway between Los Angles and San Francisco in the Paso Robles wine country.

Herrmann’s Chocolate Lab was founded in April 1997 by Fritz and Marcia Herrmann. We started out renting 400 sq feet (including kitchen and bath room) in an 1800 sq foot building. Two years later we bought the building, we now occupy about 1100 sq feet ,and lease the remainder.

Why is our kitchen called a lab? Because at Herrmann’s Chocolate Lab we create different chocolates, special things that the customers ask for, something that the big cooperate stores won‘t do.

Our original business plan called for working a few evenings a week and keeping our day jobs (sort of a hobby type of thing). We had planed to produce HOT CHILI CHOCOLATES © and GARLIC KISS © chocolates for wholesale to catalog companies. To pay the rent we planed a small line of more traditional chocolates to be sold over the counter. The open/closed sign on our door listed our hours of operation as “We are here therefore we are open and We are not here therefore we are closed” Well neither of these plans worked at all. Three days before our planned opening Fritz was working in the “Lab” late one night, when he heard people knocking on the window asking if he was open. He opened, did our first sale, and it has been fun (crazy but fun) ever since. The open/closed sign is the same, but the regular hours are listed 7 days a week. We sell a lot of Garlic KISS © and Hot Chili Chocolate© but the traditional chocolates are the mainstay of our business.

Our motto: “Life is uncertain eat dessert first”.

Our mission: To have fun, produce quality chocolate candies for a price that is fair to the customer and to us.

Our main advertising campaign centers around Chocolate Dipped Strawberries. On Fridays Fritz wanders up and down the streets giving away Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.

The Herrmann's Chocolate Lab Team

 

Fritz Herrmann

    Marcia Herrmann