by Chelsea Lin for Seattle Magazine (link)
Chocolat Vitale
Chocolat Vitale was selling hot chocolate mixes wholesale for years before owner Janet Eicher opened her store east of Ballard/Phinney’s Stumbletown in 2011. Like a well-traveled living room with too many armchairs, it’s a browser’s paradise, with chocolate from around the globe, of course, and also an eclectic mix of retro furniture, vintage dishware and—our favorite—a bubble gum machine that dispenses a big handful of rich dark-chocolate-covered pistachios when you plunk in 50 cents. Don’t miss the Venezuelan dark hot chocolate, made by request from Vitale’s well-loved mix, also available for sale at the shop.
Ballard, 6257 Third Ave. NW; 206.297.0863; chocolatvitale.com