Clarksville’s Chocolate Affair gives exposure to local businesses

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Clarksville, TN – The second annual Chocolate Affair was held February 8th, 2014 at the Wilma Rudolph Event Center at Liberty Park. Chocolate lovers indulged on vendor samples of chocolate and other confectionery treats.

The event was a sellout, with 600 tickets sold and was enjoyed by all that attended. It also gave local businesses a chance to meet potential new customers.

Grandma's Apron at the 2014 Chocolate Affair. — Grandma’s Apron at the 2014 Chocolate Affair.

“I’ve given away a lot of brochures and cards. I think the event will be a plus for us in sales,” stated Chartwells Catering’s Loretta Bearden. “We’ll do it again next year.”

“I like the fact that people came in that usually don’t come to the Clarksville downtown market. So we told them we’re at the market every week. I think it will bring in more foot traffic to that area,” said Carolos Chavez with Mami Chachi’s Empanadas. “I think the event is good for the exposure and it’s good that we can share what we have with so many people.”

The Chocolate Affair gave businesses a chance to put their wares in front of people and let them see some of the many choices available to them.

Tony Centonze with The Alley restaurant said, “The investment was relatively small for the amount of people we were able to get our food in front of. So I think it will bring us a lot of new customers. I will definitely be here next year.”

Tony Centonze (left) with The Alley restaurant located at 101 Strawberry Alley, Downtown Clarksville.

It was also a good chance for new businesses to connect with patrons and advertise their selections.

“We bought the restaurant in May and just opened in June. We just came out with our desert menu a couple of weeks ago so I was really excited to be invited to come,” commented Canyon Road Steakhouse and Beer Garden owner Sherri Corwin. “I love the event.”

“Because we are so new a lot of people have been like “Oh yeah we’ve been meaning to come” so we got to talk to a lot of people that are potential new customers,” said Corwin.

Grandma’s Apron is a new restaurant that opened at 116 Salem Road. Owner Don Cobb said, “This event is real good for business. A lot of people who haven’t heard of us have heard of us now. I will do this event again next year. I’d do it again next week.”

“One of the vendors said that a customer learned about four restaurants that are in Clarksville that they didn’t know about,” stated Jennifer Byard with Clarksville Parks and Recreation. “They learned about those restaurants at the Chocolate Affair. So that was our whole goal to let the vendors be known and advertise their products.”

The Chocolate Affair was put on by the Clarksville Department of Parks and Recreation and sponsored by Planters Bank.

For more information about the Chocolate Affair or to see about being a vendor for next year’s event, call the Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department at 931.645.7476.