Hot chocolate business owners enjoying the sweet taste of success
December 12th, 2015 Posted in BusinessBy Conrad Rowe and Anna Tuckett
radmanrowe.wix.com / annasnewswriting.
The owners of a local gourmet hot cocoa shop — built into a remodeled Airstream trailer — have been pleasantly surprised by the support they’ve received since the shop’s grand opening on Halloween.
“There has been a good reaction and we are being invited to a lot of events,” said Tyler Strazzo, who owns Mugg Cocoa and Donuts with his wife, Wyatte, “so much that we actually have had to turn some down.”
Tyler Strazzo, a California native, has his mother to thank for the idea.
“My mom said that we needed to open a hot chocolate truck up here in Logan,” he said.
He and his wife liked the idea, but spent two years considering it before they decided to “take the plunge.”
“We pitched the idea to two of our friends and they decided to do it with us,” he said.
The Strazzos were expecting business to be much slower.
“I figured if would be slower because we were new and we haven’t had our footprint here in the valley yet but it actually has been doing really well,” Wyatte Strazzo said. “We didn’t realize we had so many friends supporting us until we started this.”
On the shop’s social media platforms, customers have nothing but positive things to say.
“The S’mores hot chocolate was delicious,” Chase Anderson said on the shop’s Facebook page. “Love seeing creative businesses like this pop-up in Cache Valley.”
“Me and my husband went tonight and loved it,” Hannah Mann said in a comment on one of the shop’s Instagram pictures. “So yummy.”
The shop is located in front of Lynn’s Audio Video on north Main Street in Logan, but can go mobile for special events.
Bret Hancey, the owner of the electronic store, said he supports what the couple is doing and was eager to rent the space to them for a decent price.
“We love this location,” Wyatte Strazzo said. “Bret is so great to us.”
The business had some problems in the beginning.
“Our water heater froze and cracked so we had to take it back and get a new one,” Tyler Strazzo said. “Also, there was a leak in the water tank. Then to top it all off, about a week ago, our business partners decided they were too busy to help us run Mugg so I bought their half of the business out.”
But with plenty of wintertime events to attend — and a lot of families and students to satiate on Cache County’s cold winter nights — the Strazzos are feeling confident that Mugg’s future will be sweet.
The couple is already considering opening in other locations — possibly in Salt Lake City or Provo.
-mdl
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