ToquiNotes: A Meadowbrook Mall Regional Business that Departed in 1990s Appears to Still be Operating
By Jeff Toquinto on February 01, 2025 from ToquiNotes
At times, I get a little bit wordy on my blogs. For those who that may be a concern, no worries this week.
That said, this week’s blog is on a topic I often hit. And that is a blog related to a business that is no longer in business.
Oddly enough, this one I really had to stretch the memory bank to recall even slightly, and I cannot take credit for the genesis of this article. 
Instead, it is the result of a message I received from my friend Britney Moore.
Instead, it is the result of a message I received from my friend Britney Moore.
She inquired about a business that served sweet treats back in the late1980s and into the early 1990s at the Meadowbrook Mall. It was a chocolate store that she described as having chocolate in display cases similar to jewelry. She said the store had custom molds for their chocolates and there was a particular “white chocolate golf ball I always wanted.”
Usually, I have a fairly good recollection of old mall businesses. In particular, anything that involves food I have a good memory of. This one, however, I was only vaguely recalling it but was not certain.
Fortunately, my Meadowbrook Mall deceased business lifeline still lives in Bridgeport. The lifeline is former Meadowbrook Mall Property Manager Marcello Lalama. I texted him. A minute later, I had the answer. Minutes later, I knew I would be calling him about it.
The store? Gorant Chocolates.
“I just don’t think it was there long; maybe a few years,” said Lalama. “It was a nice cool looking store with a wood front. It had that 1980s vibe to it with the dark panels on the outside of the store.”
Lalama said it was in place when he got there in 1990. He said a bank was located next to it – Magnet Bank, which he said later became BB&T. Eventually, the banks and Gorant went under, and both spaces were utilized for a business that has been in place for decades.
“Kay Jewelers went in there, and took the chocolate stores place, and it also took the bank spot,” said Lalama. “I definitely remember that being done because they extended the storefront out a bit and I recall making sure that was okay with (Cafaro, the mall’s owners) as far as what I was seeing.”
Lalama said he was fairly sure it was a regional chain of chocolate stores based out of Youngstown, Ohio. A quick Google search shows that there are Gorant Chocolatier, Gorant Candies, and they appear to be under the same umbrella in Ohio and with few numbers 20-plus years later.
The Web site, gorant.com, lists four locations currently up – three in Ohio and one in Pennsylvania – and a fifth one (also in Ohio) opening soon. The flagship store is in Boarman, Ohio. Another quick Google search shows Boardman being a five-minute drive from Youngstown, so apparently Lalama’s memory is solid beyond just retail here in Bridgeport.
If anyone has any memories of this business, share them below in the comments. In the extremely rare chance that someone has a photo of it, email it to me at jeff@connect-bridgeport.com.
An old photo would be like the chocolate – sweet.
Editor's Note: Photos used with this story from the Gorant Chocolatier Facebook page.
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