A CHOCOLATE lover’s dream buy is up for grabs.
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Daylesford’s The Chocolate Mill is on the market and is priced to sell at $1,295,000.
Hocking Stuart Daylesford listed the property for sale about two weeks ago and is already reporting strong interest from people looking to invest or do a tree change.
Michael Devincentis from Hocking Stuart Daylesford said a potential buyer did not have to be a qualified chef or have prior experience working with chocolate.
“Four weeks of comprehensive training will be given to the new owner to ensure they are fully confident in running the business,” he said.
“This business does not require you to be a qualified chef or chocolatier. We are fully confident that after four weeks of training, you will be fully capable to run this business and immediately reap the rewards from the existing success of the Chocolate Mill.
“There is great potential to take this business to the next level, develop the cafe into a food destination, wholesale to other businesses – the options are numerous.”
Mr Devincentis described the two-storey, environmentally-friendly building and extension as “like something out of Grand Designs”.
“The ground floor of the main building comprises a manufacturing kitchen and retail shop,” he said.
“The extension includes a cafe, seating 80, a second kitchen, staffroom and workshop.
“The property also boasts a substantial car park, able to hold three buses along with 50 cars at a time. There is a beautiful, well established native garden of 200 square metres at the front of the property, seating 30 and a two storey kids play fort area.
“There is full disability access to the facility.”
Mr Devincentis said 20 to 25 per cent of the property’s power requirements were generated from a grid connected to a solar system on the main roof.
“The private residence is in the full upstairs level of the main building and comprises of a huge kitchen, timber bench tops, large island bench and walk-in pantry,” he said.
“The living/dining is open plan with a spectacular 4m high curved wood ceiling.”
The property will not be going to auction and is up for private sale.“The owners established the business, constructed the buildings and a have been operations it for about 10 years and would now like to pursue other interests,” Mr Devincentis said.
Owners Jen Gregory and Chris Weippert were reluctant to talk to the media about the sale but The Advocate recently published a profile on the couple in its weekly In My Shoes section.
The couple moved to the Hepburn Shire in 2001, living in Hepburn for a brief stint before moving into a shed at what would become the Chocolate Mill in July.
Mr Weippert had never worked with chocolate before but Ms Gregory boasted a background as a chef and while the building of the Chocolate Mill began to take shape she busied herself going to workshops and demonstrations to find out more about making chocolate.
The Chocolate Mill opened in 2003 and all chocolate is made on site and sold exclusively from the mill.