Dawn Nita, owner and chief chocolatier at DWN Craft Chocolatier, produces small-batch, handcrafted chocolate bars and confections using natural and local ingredients.
When DWN Craft Chocolatier opened its doors at 9 Ontario St. Unit 4 for the first time last month, Nita saw a dream of five years come to fruition.
“I spent a good part of the past seven years working with chocolate in two major chocolate shops in Toronto, and this is my first venture for myself,” Nita said.
“This has been percolating for about five years now, and Orillia has given me the opportunity to make it happen.”
The Toronto native has spent most of her life commuting back and forth from the big city to Orillia to visit her aunt who married an Orillia man over 30 years ago. Nita’s mother has also lived in Orillia on and off for the past 20 years.
“I feel really supported here and I really enjoy using all the great local ingredients that Orillia has to offer,” Nita said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many small local businesses such as Nita’s have struggled financially, but that wasn’t a factor Nita was fearful of when she decided to go into business for herself.
“I’m confident in my business because I am really good at it, which might sound egotistical, but I really understand chocolate and have the experience to go along with it,” she said.
“I have a lot of my own ideas that I really want to play with, so it was time to take this next step.”
Nita says her trademark is top-quality ingredients.
“A lot of times people are melting what is known in the industry as couverture. I make my own chocolate or use a blend of couverture plus something I make myself, so I have grinders that I can use to make my own chocolate,” she explained.
While her business is only one month old, Nita says her chocolate is already a hit among locals.
“The most popular item I have right now is a Neapolitan malt ball. It features a layer of white chocolate, milk chocolate, and strawberry chocolate, and a lot of people are telling me it reminds them of their childhood, so there is a really good nostalgic value to it,” she said.
“Another popular one right now is a coconut crunch bar, it’s a milk chocolate that I grind coconut into, and then I add a few crunchy things to it, and it’s a nice balanced snack, she explained.
Nita’s factory is currently open for curbside pick-up and local delivery.
More information can be found here.
