Chocolat Chocolat leaves Grand Arcade

An award-winning chocolate shop has left its city centre location, citing high rents and the proposed congestion charge among the reasons

Chocolat Chocolat, located on the ground floor of Grand Arcade in Cambridge, shut its doors for the final time on Saturday 29th July.

In a statement released over the weekend, the retailer confirmed that they will continue trading but from a different location. It is thought that they will be relocating to one of the villages just outside of the city.  

Chocolat Chocolat opened in 2010 on St Andrews Street, before moving inside Grand Arcade in 2022.

Tackling the reason for closing head on, the statement continued...

“Why are we moving? The answer’s simple, the rents in the very centre of Cambridge are high, so are the rates, the parking costs put customers off, the congestion charge is scary, and that coupled with the rising raw material costs means that we can’t produce chocolate at a price we’d like to sell at without changing where we work.”

Chocolat Chocolat is famous for its handmade sheet chocolate and seasonal gifts.  Head chocolatier, Isabelle Chappel, told Star Radio in 2022 all about the business.

As of August 2023, The Greater Cambridge Partnership is working on revised proposals for a citywide road charge.