Lil’ Chocolate Shoppe, Pleasantville

Annette Colasuonno has been creative all her life, but it wasn’t until she established a chocolate shop in the heart of Pleasantville that her true imaginative expression was born.

Known as the Lil’ Chocolate Shoppe, the store and Colasuonno have been a staple in the village for 30 years, providing customers with an array of sweet treats, including individual chocolates and special gifts and favors she makes for special occasions.

Colasuonno wasn’t considering running a chocolate store in 1986. At the time, she was more interested in purchasing a two-family house as an investment. But her real estate agent told her about a business for sale and she decided to explore.

The previous owner operated the store from September to June on a daily basis from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. At the time that schedule suited Colasuonno because her children were still in school.

Originally located on Manville Road in the building that currently houses the Jacob Burns Film Center, Colasuonno moved to its current location on Washington Avenue a short time later, where she shared the space for a few years with a locksmith.

“I love creating packages and I love creating things,” said Colasuonno, “and I enjoy my store.”

Throughout the years, the Lil’ Chocolate Shoppe has earned a loyal following, and no doubt Colasuonno’s friendly demeanor and her willingness to listen to her customers has been a major reason. Recently, Colasuonno was named Business Person of the Year by the Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce and was honored during a special ceremony on Apr. 27. She was recognized for demonstrating business excellence, vision, innovation, leadership and community spirit.

Behind the counter of the small, intimate retail space is where customers find her each day – unless she’s in the back busily creating special chocolate treats for Bar Mitzvahs, birthday parties, anniversaries and weddings or dreaming up a variety of seasonal and holiday-themed gifts.

“Everything I make is with Belgian chocolate,” Colasuonno said of the personal, one-of-a-kind gifts she makes.

Some of those gifts include chocolate treats in the shape of keyboards, musical notes, sunflowers, flip flops, letters dipped in sprinkles, birthday pops and many other treats with various themes.

She can also mold a variety of different items that might be suitable for a teacher’s gift or as a thank you to someone special.

“When somebody comes in with an idea, I have a mold to match that idea and I can make different things from it,” Colasuonno explained.

The delicious confections that she sells include a variety of silky, handmade truffles in flavors such as cappuccino, hazelnut, key lime, lemon and Irish cream. All of them can be boxed or professionally arranged in a tin, basket or special container by Colasuonno.

“Making chocolate is a very relaxing activity for me,” she said “It’s almost like therapy.”

At Lil’ Chocolate Shoppe, customers will also find a variety of regular candies to choose from. On a round table in the middle of the store, Colasuonno has arranged small cellophane bags filled with jelly beans, fruit chews, gummy bears, fudge and other treats.

On nearby shelves, there’s the more commonly found Hershey bars, Dots gumdrops, Butterfingers, vanilla Turkish Taffy bars, 3 Musketeers and Charleston Chew.

The Lil’ Chocolate Shoppe is located at 16 Washington Ave. in Pleasantville. For more information, call 914-769-0771 or e-mail lilchocolateshop@gmail.com. The store is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.