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Sweet Success Runs in Family
by Linda Shrieves
On 2/25/2001
When Argentine native Edgar Schaked moved to Orlando, he put his faith in the power of chocolate.
He didn`t know anyone here. He didn`t even know the chocolate business that well, having studied to become a mechanical engineer.
But chocolate, he discovered, is a universal language.
Schaked was a neophyte in the world of Hershey`s and M&M/Mars, but he had a distinguished bloodline. He comes from generations of Argentine chocolatiers.
Schaked`s chocolate adventure started in 1995, when his father, Baruch Schaked, announced that he was selling his chocolate shop in North Miami Beach.
"When my father said he wanted to retire, I saw 25 years of experience going down the drain," Schaked said.
Determined to keep the family`s passion alive, Edgar, then 24, scrapped his budding engineering career and decided to continue the family legacy started by his grandfather, Gustavo Bar, a well-known chocolatier in Argentina.
But Schaked had big dreams. While his father had owned a small boutique chocolate shop, Schaked wanted to build a national chain. He decided to start in Orlando.
"I had to start from scratch," Schaked said. "I came to a city where I didn`t know anybody. I chose a location, rented it, opened the space, and my father came from Miami to help. A few weeks later, my father said, `Now you`re on your own,` and he left."
Schakolad Chocolate Factory now has six locations - three owned by the Schaked family and three franchises.
In a business dominated by huge corporations such as Hershey`s and M&M/Mars, Edgar Schaked hopes to do the impossible - make a national name for himself by producing fine, handmade chocolates.
"I wanted to offer people the best chocolate, handmade from Belgian chocolate," Schaked said.
In Orlando, a city where most shoppers lean toward Wal-Mart rather than trendy boutiques, Schakolad is making a name for Schaked.
"Obviously, we cater to middle-class and upper-income people," he said. But chocolate is a cheap extravagance. "You go to the movies and they charge you $3 for a bag of M&Ms. For $3, you could come in here and get four pieces of handmade chocolate, and your mouth is happy for the whole day."
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