It was a perfect fall day – cool and crisp, blue skies and the sun sat low in the sky. I had to hit the road and my destination of choice was Lake Sacajawea in Longview. The city has a fabulous park that encircles the long, arching lake right in the middle of the town.
After my morning walk around the park, I was in need of a cup of coffee and lunch. I headed down to Commerce Avenue, which is the equivalent of a downtown Main Street. The downtown core of Longview is surprisingly large and shows signs of a once-thriving downtown that went through a rough patch, but is now on the upswing. What I love about downtown Longview is that it is a “shop small” mecca – you won’t find single national chain store here. When you shop downtown, you are supporting locals who are running their own business – not making money for some corporate exec.
I stopped in for lunch at Country Folks Deli and had a wonderful veggie sandwich for lunch and as I was leaving, I discovered a vintage-looking coffee shop next door that was seriously pulling me in towards their front door to discover what was inside.
Well, I thought it was a coffee shop, but it is much more than that.
I discovered Storyboard Delights artisan chocolate shop. In addition to coffee and tea, they also do crepes, sandwiches, and of course something sweet for dessert! They create their chocolates bean-to-bar, meaning they roast their own chocolate beans to use in their own chocolate creations giving them full control over flavors.
Storyboard Delights suits me to a tee. I will tell you I am a sucker for vintage. I love books, history, retro and places with personality. I can admire the clean line modern design of many NW coffee shops, but give me someplace with character and I’ll keep coming back.
Their eclectic interior has seating at tables or in a lounge. Books are everywhere which hints at their theme … chocolates with a literary flavor. Inspired by folklore, fairytales, and books (the older the better,) it is a chocolate-loving, book-loving, retro-loving haven. The owner flipped the disc on the record player and I enjoyed some vintage tunes from their hi-fi while I sat back and enjoyed a very good latte in a real cup. No paper to-go cups here.
Hand-Carved
I asked about some sculptures he had on display and the owner said he carves his own designs for the sculpted chocolates they sell. He showed me how he carves the sculpture, then creates a mold he uses to form the chocolates. Coming soon he will be offering four different three dimensional sculpted figures representing characters from a Christmas Carol enclosed in a box that looks just like a real book. Every book lover / chocolate lover would welcome a Christmas gift like that!
I asked about some interesting looking sculptures on display, and the owner Eric explained that he hand-carves all the sculptures used to create molds for the sculpted chocolate bars and three-dimensional chocolates. He has created a set of chocolates depicting a cast of characters from A Christmas Carol which will be available soon for the holiday season, complete in a box that looks like a real book. What chocolate lover or book lover wouldn’t enjoy receiving a box of Dickens for Christmas?
You can stop in an visit the owners Eric and Julisa in person for a chat, enjoy the smells of whatever happens to be baking at the moment, or order chocolates directly online to send to a friend. Either way, you will walk away happy!
