Swiss chocolate maker to open store at Tysons Corner Center tomorrow

(Updated at 5:50 p.m.) The Swiss chocolatier that invented the modern truffle is bringing its sweet confections to Tysons Corner Center.

Läderach Chocolatier Suisse will take over the mall’s former Godiva store on first floor, right across the hall from Macy’s. The new store will have a soft opening tomorrow (Friday) with an official launch on Saturday (May 7), just in time for Mother’s Day, according to Läderach spokesperson Ryan Bowling.

“Tysons Corner Center was seen as a good location due to the growing demand for premium fresh chocolate Läderach has seen online and through e-commerce, combined with previous results with the former Godiva location,” Bowling told FFXnow by email.

This will be Läderach’s 40th retail store in North America and one of 34 Godiva locations that it took over with a purchase agreement last year. The chocolatier has expanded significantly since arriving on the continent in 2019, per an April 28 press release that was reported earlier this week by DC Eater.

Shops at Union Station in D.C. and Pentagon City’s Fashion Centre in Arlington opened last year.

“As the demand for premium fresh chocolate continues to grow in North America, so should the experience, and that’s why we’re excited to continue to increase our retail presence coast-to-coast in the U.S.,” Läderach North America President Nathanael Hausmann said in the release.

According to its website, the family-run chocolatier was founded in 1962 in Glarus, Switzerland, by Rudolf Läderach Jr., who invented and patented a new, easier process for manufacturing truffles by filling “thin-walled hollow balls.”

Läderach is also known for its FrischSchoggi, slabs of chocolate bark that come in 20 varieties, according to the press release:

Each Läderach premium fresh chocolate retail store provides chocolate lovers with the opportunity to awaken their five senses through more than 85 varieties of fresh artisanal chocolate directly from Switzerland. The retail stores include Läderach’s iconic FrischSchoggi™ (fresh chocolate) counter at the front behind clear glass featuring multiple large slabs of fresh chocolate bark that can be hand-broken and enjoyed for gifting or everyday occasions.

The company says all of its chocolate is manufactured in-house at its laboratory in Glarus. The cocoa beans are sourced from farmers in Trinidad, Ecuador, Brazil, Madagascar, and Ghana.

For shoppers who won’t be satisfied with access to just one chocolatier, Venchi Fine Italian Chocolates remains on track to open a chocolate and gelato shop this summer, Tysons Corner Center spokesperson Maurisa Potts confirmed to FFXnow.

Venchi will be located on the mall’s second floor, almost directly above Läderach.