Allow this Urban Roamer to start this post with a personal story about Chocolate Lover
This story goes all the way back when I was in college…in Cebu. I moved to Cebu in order to fulfill my UP dreams as I ended up being admitted to UP Cebu (my second choice) rather than Diliman (my first choice). Me and my mom ended up staying in Cebu for one to two years and during that period, my mom learned how to make chocolate treats as a way to make a little living while we were there. As such, mom and I would frequent a local baking and confectionery supply shop there called Caro and Marie (which is surprisingly still around at this time of writing) and I became familiar with the art of baking, though not really practicing it myself.
Eventually my mom, and then I, went back to Manila and I ended up studying outside the UP system (though for the sake of the experience I managed to cross-enroll in UP Diliman for a semester). My mom was intent on continuing the chocolate making and we were recommended to check out this huge baking and confectionery supply in Cubao, specifically in the corner of C. Benitez and P. Tuazon in Barangay Kaunlaran: a then-farily new landmark called Chocolate Lover.
While Chocolate Lover is located in a place not readily accessible by public mass transport, (if not by walking, one has to ride a tricycle which are more expensive, especially if the driver is of the scummy type) the place itself was a sight to behold, a 7-storey building designed in the style of a European castle.
My mom eventually stopped doing chocolates as she focused on doing other things and Chocolate Lover became a distant memory that came up from time to time as I was doing work and other stuff as well. That was until last November when Chocolate Lover announced it would cease operations this December 27, marking the end of an era.
The Chocolate Lover Story
The story of Chocolate Lover began in 1989, when Annie Carmona-Lim was thinking of a new, unique business to set up in her property as she had struggled keeping her previous businesses open there (a dress shop and a bakeshop) in the midst of fierce competition and personal health struggles. She noticed that at that time, there were few, if any, businesses in the metropolis that were selling baking and confectionary supplies. Given her bakeshop experience, she figured a baking and confectionery supply store would be the way to go.
Annie would source the goods from her siblings based in the US, which she would sell in a modest 20 sqm space in the apartment complex her family owned. The business would soon grow in popularity as queues would regularly form outside the store premises. A manager of the bank her family had a banking relationship with, encouraged her to expand the business and build a bigger store through a loan the bank would provide her. She accepted the offer as she envisioned a timeless and “regal” design for Chocolate Lover’s new home.
Work on the new building would begin in the mid to late 1990s. By 2000, the first four levels of the building was operational, with the supplies store at the ground level and baking school at the upper levels. The fifth to seventh floors were reserved for the private use of Annie’s family as part of it was her residence.
A Landmark Until the End
The baking supply business in the Philippines has changed in so many ways since Chocolate Lover began and its iconic castle of a store opened to the public. More competitors in the cityscape and online have emerged as more people have embraced baking, especially during the pandemic. Chocolate Lover had undergone changes, including a brief expansion with a store near Quezon Avenue (now occupied by another baking supply company). In addition, Annie and her family have settled overseas and would only make occasional visits to the store as her children have expressed disinterest in managing it, which would become a factor in the decision.
Regardless of these changes, the Chocolate Lover castle has remained an iconic landmark at the part of Cubao that people still go to for their baking needs. So news of its impending closure was met by a sense of sadness among its customers and of its people as well, many of whom have been employed there since the early days of the store.
Alongside the closure of the business, the castle itself is up for either sale or lease for commercial purposes. At this time of writing, no offers have been accepted yet. Nevertheless, Annie made it clear that she is not keen on offers from people who are intent on continuing the business on her behalf. She made it clear that the business will shut down for good and if Chocolate Lover is going to open again, it will have to be run by a different owner.
Thank you for being a pioneer and for the sweet memories, Chocolate Lover. May the castle you built remain a landmark that will define the city landscape and support new businesses there for years to come.
Acknowledgements as well to Annie Carmona-Lim on YouTube, ABS-CBN News, and Philippine Star
