Daily Gleaner:
The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchise in the Regent Mall will remain in operation until a new franchisee is found to operate the store.
Lloyd Shears, director of franchising for the confectionery business, said it’s being run corporately for the time being, but there has been interest from the Fredericton business community in taking over the operation.
Representatives of the chain, which has 50 locations across Canada, will be in Fredericton from Feb. 17-18 to meet with prospective franchisees. A minimum cash investment of $50,000 is required to invest in a franchise.The current franchisee Lynnreed Ltd. has filed bankruptcy and its accounts are in the hands of A.C. Poirier and Associates Inc. to be settled.
Shears declined to comment on what went wrong for the first holder of the franchise, but said it’s not the products or the markets.
“We thrive in smaller markets because there’s nobody else in town,” Shears said. “We bring something unique to the marketplace. You can go to the grocery store and buy something off the shelf, but to get a chocolate product that’s fresh-made, the caramel apples and the fudge, is absolutely unique.”