Troyer puts the ‘chocolate’ in chocolate walk
Verna Troyer, owner of Troyer’s Sweet Shoppe in Millersburg, will hand-make all the chocolates that will be in the annual HDM Chocolate Walk on Nov. 23.
What good would a chocolate walk be to anyone if there was no chocolate involved?
Fortunately for everyone participating in the upcoming Historic Downtown Millersburg Chocolate Walk on Nov. 23, that won’t be an issue.
Right in the heart of HDM resides Verna Troyer’s business Troyer’s Sweet Shoppe, and like Hershey’s and Willy Wonka, Troyer cranks out sweet-tasting chocolates at an alarming rate, more than enough to supply HDM’s Chocolate Walk with its bounty that can be found in more than a dozen area Millersburg businesses participating in the event.
For Troyer, creating something the majority of people love to savor is a labor of love, and she’s been making chocolate for many years.
She said she is thrilled to be part of this endeavor and is looking forward to having people sample the many different tastes of chocolate she creates.
Troyer said she sat down with Taylor Sigler, HDM executive director, and the two churned out a variety of chocolates that would be suitable entries into the Chocolate Walk.
She said figuring out exactly how much chocolate she needs to make is the first step, and with plenty of participants expected in this time-honored tradition and more than a dozen participating businesses involved, that’s a lot of chocolate.
Exactly what to put into the mix is left up to Troyer, and that’s a good thing because she knows what people like.
“Peanut clusters, sea salt chocolates, turtles, caramels, buckeyes, truffles and other chocolates are always favorites,” Troyer said. “Each business will have its own unique candy, which should make for a lot of variety for those who visit every stop along the way, and by the time they are done, they will have a good amount of chocolate to take with them.”
That is unless they choose to go with option two, which is devouring the candy as they travel from stop to stop.
HDM will provide a container in which walk participants may place their candy if they choose to collect it rather than gobble it up on the spot.
The walk is fun for those participating, but also it is fun for Troyer, who enjoys the task of fulfilling the chocolate needs for the walk.
She said she and her staff make up the chocolates and individually wrap each piece, which allows people to give the candy as a gift if they’d like.
If they prefer to dine on it themselves, her store at 4 E. Jackson St. will be open all day, so participants can stop by and purchase even more chocolate products.
Troyer said she has numerous different styles of gift boxes available and said they do ship products for those wishing to give a gift.
Of course, there will be plenty of additional chocolate options available that didn’t make the cut on the tour.
“This is our third year of doing this, and it’s been a wonderful experience,” Troyer said. “People who come to Millersburg for the walk love chocolate and enjoy tasting all of the different kinds, and we will stay open as long as we need to in order to satisfy their sweet tooth. Chocolates and Christmas go hand in hand.”
With Merry Millersburg taking place throughout the day, it should be a sweet time out on the town and a fun way to roll into the holiday season on a sweet note.