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Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium
Formerly
 Trahan's Candies (1956–1988)
Ice-cream parlor
Founded 1956 (69 years ago) (1956)
Founders Paul Trahan
Mary Trahan
Headquarters 66 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine
Number of locations
 2
Owners Ben Coggins (since 1988)
William Coggins (since 1988)

Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium is a popular chain of shops. They are known for their delicious ice cream and yummy chocolates. You can find their stores in New England, United States. The company started in 1956 as "Trahan's Candies."

A Sweet History

How it All Began

Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium has a long and sweet history. It began in 1956 with Paul and Mary Trahan. They opened a candy shop called "Trahan's Candies." Their very first store was inside another shop. This was in Vineyard Haven, on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Just two years later, the Trahans opened their own candy store. This new shop was in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. They loved making their own candies and chocolates. Soon, they opened more summer shops. These were in Falmouth and Hyannis, Massachusetts. They even had winter shops in Florida. These were in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. Each location made its own sweet treats!

Growing and Changing

Over the years, some stores opened and closed. But one special store, in Bar Harbor, Maine, opened in 1980. This store is still open today! After the Oak Bluffs store was sold in 2004, the Bar Harbor location became the main office.

In 1983, the stores started selling ice cream. The Bar Harbor shop began with sixteen flavors. They added more flavors as people wanted them. Today, that store has 64 kinds of hard-serve ice cream. They also have twelve gelato flavors. You can even find vegan ice cream there.

The Famous Lobster Ice Cream

One very unique flavor is lobster ice cream. It was first made in 1988. This flavor started as a joke! A customer challenged them to create it. But it became so popular that it stayed on the menu. To make it, they mix cooked lobster meat with vanilla ice cream.

New Owners, New Name

After 32 years, the Trahans sold their business. Their nephews, Ben and William Coggins, bought it. They renamed the company "Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium." This happened in 1988.

More stores opened after the name change. A shop in Northampton, Massachusetts, opened in 1991. The Oak Bluffs store opened again three years later. The Northampton store closed in 2017.

Facing Challenges

The Bar Harbor store gets most of its business from visitors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people traveled. This caused their sales to drop a lot in 2020. The store started a special fundraising campaign to help.

Current Locations

Gallery

  • Bar Harbor – USA - Ben ^ Bill's Chocolate Emporium - People queue - Ice Cream - panoramio (1)

    Inside the Bar Harbor location, 2015

  • Bar Harbor – USA - Ben ^ Bill's Chocolate Emporium - People queue - Ice Cream - panoramio

    The right-hand side of the store