Well-known chocolatier opening second location

TAMPA — Who says you can have too much chocolate?

Belleair Bluffs-based William Dean Chocolates is opening a second location, this one a café in the Midtown Tampa development.

Construction has already begun on the 1,400-square-foot café and when complete it will offer the company’s artisan chocolates as well breakfast and lunch options and coffee and tea service. The space will include a bakery counter, indoor seating for up to 14 people and shared patio space that will be able to seat up to 40, according to a statement from Summit Design + Build, the Tampa-based general contractor.

Bill Brown, chief chocolate officer at William Dean,says in an email that the new shop is expected to open in late November or early December. The bakery, he says, will carry croissants, breakfast pastries, cakes, eclairs, pastries, quiche, sandwiches and salads but “the timing of the opening of the new store will impact how many of the new products we are able to have when we open.”

“We are also building a commissary between the two stores where we will be doing all of our production and having classes/events.” 

The $500 million Midtown Tampa development sits on Dale Mabry Highway, just off Interstate 275. With hotels, retail and office space, it is one of the largest mixed-use projects in the area. Its tenant roster already includes some of the best-known names in retail and dining, among them are REI, Whole Foods Market and Shake Shack.

And in late September, the publicly traded staffing giant Kforce Inc. announced it was moving its headquarters from Ybor City to office space in Midtown late next year.