A bittersweet (temporary?) farewell to Wen Chocolates
Wen Chocolates owner William Poole is keeping busy these last few days of business. The beloved Platte Street shop is closing its doors on Sunday and Poole says he'll be taking a month off to reevaluate the company and product. "I have a milk crate in a dark closet all ready," he jokes. "You'll find me in there rocking back and forth saying 'safe warm place, safe warm place.'" 
Liz Kellermeyer
Still, there's some good news for fans of the artisan chocolates.
Poole says that after his month hiatus, he plans to search for a new storefront location. Turns out a real estate matter is behind the closure. Neighboring store Savory Spice, whose footprint includes a sizable chunk directly behind Wen, plans to consolidate its space, and the landlord wanted Poole to take on that extra space. But because the chocolatier already has a functional kitchen elsewhere, the added financial responsibility would have created an unreasonable burden -- and so Poole gave up the location altogether. (He says he'd like to see the space go to another confectioner, and hints that something could be in the works, but declines to comment further on that possibility.)
Right now, Poole is going hoarse chatting with all the people passing through the store one last time. The display case will remain stocked with the favorites through the weekend, though the brown ribbons adorning the gift bags have been replaced with black ones to mark the "temporary sadness" of the occasion.
Temporary, because Poole suggests there will be another big announcement in the upcoming months, urging fans to keep an eye on the website to track any developments. In the meantime, he's encouraging people to come by on Sunday bearing bubbly and flutes for a final goodbye--to the Platte Street location, at least.
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