The little town of Beaufort can now boast that it has not one, but TWO chocolate factories. The makers of Le Dome Champagne Truffles have set up shop in Beaufort Town Center.
(Don’t worry, Chocolate Tree; it’s not open to the public. You’re still Beaufort’s answer to Willy Wonka!)
Le Dome Champagne Truffles combine two of the world’s most celebrated elixirs, chocolate and champagne. Touted as the “Chocolates of Celebration,” they’re made with the finest French and Belgian chocolate, molded into the shape of life-sized 3-D champagne corks. The milk and dark chocolates both have smooth dark truffle ganache centers and are uniquely packaged in their branded custom capsules, like those seen atop champagne bottles.
The Le Dome Champagne Truffle Corks were first created under license for the New York Times Square Millennium Celebration. This product and the subsequent Le Dome Champagne Truffle brand and company are the creation of husband and wife team Joel and Kharye Davis.
Shortly after beginning married life as residents in California, the Davises started their entrepreneurial careers in specialty foods. They were among comparatively few African Americans at the national and international trade shows they attended and later exhibited their products in. After the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), they set their sights on import and export with Canada and left California for Seattle. Among other gourmet specialty food products they represented for import into the States, they most enjoyed and had great success with chocolate. Within a few months they secured orders for their chocolate client, among the first was for nearly $1 million dollars. They never looked back.
The Davises finally decided to start their own chocolate Manufactory. They are now part of the incubator program at the Don Ryan Center for Innovation in Bluffton, and were selected by USC’s International School of Business as one of eight companies in the state to have an export program prepared by International MBA candidates. The Davises have lived on Daufuskie Island over the past 2 years, but have now sacrificed their full-time beach walks in order to make their chocolate dreams come true. Their Beaufort facility is dedicated to the Le Dome Champagne Truffles brand.
While the Le Dome Champagne Truffles factory is not open to the public, you may order online at www.ledomechampagnetruffles.com/
