World-famous ‘Chocolate Master’ to open a shop in the East Bay

Residents of Walnut Creek will soon have something nice to accompany their Swiss watches – Swiss chocolate. A chocolate-making giant from across the pond is planning to move into downtown’s Broadway Plaza, providing a crucial drop-point for sweet reloads on date nights, Valentine’s Day and sheepish apologies.

Läderach, a Switzerland-based company founded in 1962, will slide into a slot at the outdoor shopping mall at 138 Broadway Plaza, Suite 1124. A company representative was not immediately available to give the opening date, though a billboard already posted the address suggests it won’t be long.

The local site Beyond the Creek was the first to report the news.

Läderach has 220-plus locations in more than two-dozen countries and employs some 2,500 people, according to its public company profile. It’s been run by three generations of the same family, with Elias Läderach serving as its current head chocolatier.

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In 2018, Elias won the title of “World Chocolate Master” at a Paris competition among the planet’s reigning confectioners. More recently, according to his Instagram, he has sculpted a chocolate violin for the San Diego Orchestra and a cow-shaped centerpiece for a Swiss athletic festival so big it had to be lifted via helicopter.

Whether such delectable curiosities will be available at the Walnut Creek shop is unknown. But it should stock the goodies it has at other stores. Those include gift boxes for special occasions, pralines and truffles, “tablets” and “slabs” (including vegan options) and niche items like Dubai chocolate and bonbons containing alcohol.

Details: Opening soon at 138 Broadway Plaza, Suite 1124, Walnut Creek; laderach.com