Shortly after moving to Cleveland, LJ Huang began to search for homestyle Shanghainese food.

“There were a lot of good Chinese restaurants, but I wanted my food—my comfort food.” LJ explained. It was 2010, and simultaneously, she found herself attending potlucks and community parties within the Chinese and AsiaTown community.

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Rebecca Hess found her way to chocolate-making in a unique way: through a tropical fruit CSA. The CSA began to send her fresh cacao, which Rebecca collected until she had enough to make a batch of chocolate. Learning the process quickly inspired her to order more beans, invest in equipment, and eventually led her to outline a business plan for her own company—placing her on the path towards opening the Cleveland Chocolate Company.

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