Tcho Chocolate Is Leaving SF For Berkeley

Tcho, the local chocolatier whose creations are found on a wide variety of SF's menus, is about to be a little less local. As the SF Business Times reports, the company has outgrown its combo office-factory-warehouse on the Embarcadero, and is planning to jump ship to Berkeley, where it'll have more room to grow. New CEO Andrew Burke says that the company's revenues have shot up to $6 million this year (compared to $4.5 million at the beginning of last year), and while they don't plan to change too much with regards to the brand, they just need the space.

Tcho's current home on Pier 17, a popular tourist destination, will shut down sometime next month, and the company will re-emerge at Berkeley's Marchant Building (3100 San Pablo Avenue), for which it's signed a 12-year lease. It will share the building with Clif Bar, which recently acquired space there for a pilot production plant, as well as LA Fitness and some UC Berkeley offices. Burke says that the new location will actually provide a better tour experience, as the company will be able to more effectively integrate the factory and the tours and offer a more sizable retail shop. Expect the new Tcho location sometime in April.

· Tcho bids San Francisco bittersweet farewell [SF Business Times]
· SF's 12 Best Chocolate Shops [~ ESF ~]