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Chocolatier Expands Shop Into Dessert Heaven

By Beacon Staff

When the tiny Copperleaf Chocolate Company jumped into a larger shop on the corner of Central Avenue and Third Street in Whitefish this summer, it blossomed into a full-blown dessert heaven with a Old World flair. Chocolatier Susan Schnee not only doubled the exquisite hand-made chocolates she crafts, but added artful mouth-watering desserts delectable enough to make oldsters widen their eyeballs like a five-year-old on Christmas morning. Walking into her shop of confections feels akin to browsing a European bakery.

Along with her chocolates fashioned from renowned international chocolate manufacturers, Schnee added hand-scooped ice cream, breads, muffins, pastries, cakes, and espresso. Platters hold puffy croissants and schnecke, a poppyseed lemon cinnamon pastry popular in Germany. “So many Europeans have dropped in this summer, and they’ve said it’s just like home,” Schnee says.

To maintain her seven-day-per-week summer hours from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Schnee also quadrupled her staff and added wares from a baker and pastry chef. The shop now now features rustic breads. “We’re playing around with artisan breads like multigrain, wheat-white-rye, and kalamata olive,” Schnee says. She’s also carrying specialty gluten-free and organic muffins.

Individual sized desserts are one of the biggest lures. Her refrigerator rotates with chocolate mango mousse cake, tiramisu, caramel pecan cheesecake, carrot cake, and lemon-huckleberry cake with cream cheese frosting. With a window bar and table, you can indulge right there.

“The continuous thing I hear is ‘I’m so glad you’re here,'” says Schnee. “The response has been so welcoming.” Schnee also takes specialty orders for parties and dinners: pastries, desserts, and breads. She recommends preordering to ensure quantity and availability.

This fall, Schnee plans to add one more service—downtown Whitefish delivery. She intends to provide downtown businesses with delivery of coffees and pastries.

“Business seems to have increased four-fold,” Schnee says. A little bit of Europe has come to Whitefish, and Whitefish seems to be eating it up.