Borough Chocolates, located at 181A Norman Ave., has been bringing hand-painted bonbons to Greenpoint since September.
What started as a solo project in owner Jessica Minghi’s home in 2020 after losing her job at a restaurant due to COVID-19 has since grown into a full-blown business of artisanal small-batch chocolates dedicated to Brooklyn.
“I didn’t necessarily see myself doing chocolate, since I’ve just been in the pastry world for so long, so it was just kind of happenstance. I was determined to not go back to restaurants, and I already had momentum with what I wanted to do, so I just stuck with it and ended up with the spot in Greenpoint in September,” Minghi recalled.
And while pandemic-related job loss kickstarted Minghi’s project, which quickly gained popularity among family and friends, opening a business over the past year and a half has proved advantageous in some aspects.
“I feel like because I built my business model out of COVID, there’s the security blanket of my e-commerce site, which is how I made the money to get into the spot,” Minghi explained. “So I kind of have the resources, just because the structure was literally built during COVID — only one or two people come in at a time, it’s a really intimate thing, so it’s a little bit easier to navigate because it’s almost essentially pick up.”
The location itself, which Minghi was able to secure with COVID pricing, also lends itself to Borough Chocolates’ brand identity.
“I really love the area, it’s close to things that I like, and I realized how fortunate I am to have a shop in Greenpoint,” Minghi said. “It helps with creating the identity of your business because the community is just so strong. Before I was coming into it it was just Borough Chocolates, but now I feel like Greenpoint is such a part of Borough Chocolates just because of the outpouring of support that I’ve gotten.”
Minghi also cites the loyalty of fellow local businesses in helping drive the feeling of community amongst neighbors, which includes both past and upcoming Borough Chocolates partnerships (with flower shops, hotels, and beyond).
“I definitely want to be branching out and connecting with the other local businesses here, too, because there’s also that support system as well,” Minghi noted.
To order Borough Chocolates online, visit here.