Congratulations to Peterbrooke Chocolatier--
Small Business of the Month for January 2009
“We believe that the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce in a world-class organization and are honored that our fledging effort has been chosen as the Small Business of the Month to start the 2009 New Year,” says Denise Bambach, co-owner of Peterbrooke Chocolatier. This Buford-based franchise has been open only since December 2007 and so, says John: “In that short time, we have been delighted with how many interesting people we’ve meet and by the wonderful response we’ve had to our bringing to Gwinnett what we believe is the world’s best chocolate. We could have picked a better time to get into an upscale retail business, but we know that getting our name and products known is key to our success, and that’s why we take our participation with the Chamber so seriously.”
Franchisor Peterbrooke Chocolatier has been in business in Jacksonville, FL since 1983 and has made a superb reputation in that area. Denise feels that: “saying Peterbrooke in Jacksonville is like saying Coke in Atlanta. Our goal is to make Peterbrooke’s name almost as well-known here.” John says: “We have the best-tasting chocolate in the world, wonderful packaging and presentation, a fine location, a cheerful and attractive store/chocolate factory, and an excellent staff. With all that and the support of the Chamber and the Chamber membership, we feel we have the chance to be really successful over time. For now,” he cautions, “we’re feeling that how to make a small fortune in the chocolate business is similar to how to make a small fortune in the vineyard business – start with a large fortune.”
After meeting in High School, marrying, and raising three wonderful children in the New York area, Denise and John moved to Lawrenceville in 2003. Denise had a 25-year career as an analyst in human resources and payroll systems, and John had an extensive career in the financial service industry. John says with emphasis: “And they’re not getting me back to New York.”
