Photo above: Megan Bullock, left, and Melena Argetsinger lead the way through the back store room where every kind of chocolate imaginable was made available to patrons.
By Bob Sofaly
Friday night, August 21st, marked the 31st annual All You Can Eat Night at Beaufort’s Chocolate Tree on Boundary Street and those who attended got their sweet tooth indulged.
“A lot of chocolate gets devoured”, said co-owner Joy King as both young and old meandered through the small candy store. “Tiger paws, sea-salt caramels and English toffee are the big eats”, she said.
The event is so popular it has to be done on two shifts. The first shift is from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Then the store is straightened up, floor vacuumed and trays of chocolates re-filled. Then the doors open again for the late crowd at 8:15 p.m. For an added treat, co-owner Gene Green mixed up a batch of fresh Beene Brittle for the patrons who watched and waited patiently for the candy to cook, hoping it would be finished soon enough for sampling.
From left: Ashlyn Houston makes sure all the display boxes are filled; Isaac Leonard is followed by his sister Eden as they meander through The Chocolate Tree. Following the duo with glasses of fresh milk is grandmother Evelene Stevenson; Co-Owner Gene Green sprinkles salt to a copper kettle filled with butter, corn syrup and water while cooking up a batch of Beene (sesame seed) Brittle; Some patrons try to decide which morel to try next while others dive right in and try them all; Elan Spoeyerer cleans up the floor before the second opening for All You Can Eat Night at Chocolate Tree; All You Can Eat Night at the Chocolate Tree on Boundary Street is a very well organized free-for-all for of confectionary delights; Long-time employee, Mary Fox, left, puts out more chocolate covered coconut clusters; Judd Arnett pulls candy from sealed containers to refill display boxes.
