By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Eric and Jennifer Jacques threw calorie caution to the wind on Saturday as they roamed through downtown Bowling Green in search of chocolate delicacies.
“Heck no,” Jennifer said about concerns about calories. “Absolutely not,” her husband agreed.
The Jacques, from Cygnet, were among the 400 people who signed up for the annual Chocolate Crawl for United Way in downtown Bowling Green.
Like many, they started out strong, then ran into a chocolate wall about halfway through the 22 sweet stops. So the Jacques switched strategies.
“We started to eat them, and it was too much, so we went to CVS to get baggies,” Jennifer Jacques said.
“We’re going to take it home and have it over the next couple days,” Eric Jacques said.
Some of the more experienced “crawlers” avoided the rookie mistake of not coming prepared with plastic containers.
“We’re snacking here and there,” said Bridgette Fisher, of Perrysburg. “But I brought Tupperware. I learned from last year.”
When questioned if one container was enough, Fisher pulled a second one from her bag.
“I have two. I planned accordingly.”
The chocolate crawl, which coincided this year with Sweetest Day, was aptly dubbed #SweetestDayEver.
Brenna Griteman, of Bowling Green, encountered the same inconceivable problem of too much chocolate.
“I started out eating as I went. But I soon decided it was not sustainable,” said Griteman, who was accompanied by her mom, Beverly Griteman of Napoleon, and friend Amanda Schlagheck of Bowling Green.
“Every place has something different,” Schlagheck said.
After comparing notes, the women narrowed their favorites so far to the hot chocolate bar at Almar, the chocolate pudding shots at Howards, and the “mood” chocolate bars at For Keeps.
And for those on the chocolate trail who were calorie conscious, Joyful Creations offered triple chocolate dark fudge.
“It all went through the calorie centrifuge,” Larry Brim said with a grin. “Nobody believes it, but it sounds good.”
The chocolate crawl brought together teams of families, girlfriends and couples in their quest for sweets.
“Our group of girlfriends decided to do something fun this afternoon,” said Lou Ann Guyer, of Pemberville. “We’ve liked everything we’ve had so far.”
Top on the list, so far, were the pudding shots. A half hour later, the group of women were seen heading into Junipers for the promise of chocolate martinis.
Among the treats handed out were dark chocolate salted caramels at Eden Fashion Boutique. More than two hours into the crawl, and business was still booming.
“It’s been steady traffic since the start of the event,” said owner Kati Thompson. Shoppers may have come for the chocolates, but many stayed to check out the fashions.
Other stores featured delicacies like double chocolate chocolate chip cookies, chocolate smoothies, chocolate covered fruit, chocolate covered baklava, buckeyes and chocolate coffee drinks.
“It’s all chocolate – there has been nothing bad,” said one happy crawler as she picked up her treat at Eden.
Down the street a bit, Donna Foster, of Wayne, and Sherry Shenkman, of Malinta, were waiting to get their fix at Novel Blends.
The two were celebrating “girlfriends day” and a common passion.
“We have a shared love of chocolate,” Shenkman said.
The two were also showing amazing willpower.
“We’re loving it – and we’re saving it,” Foster said.
In the same block, a line had formed of people waiting to create their own beverage at the hot chocolate bar at Almar. Once mugs were filled with hot chocolate, patrons picked their toppings from marshmallows, chocolate chunks, whipped cream, coconut, mini buckeyes, chocolate sprinkles, white chocolate and peppermint.
In the next block, Ardy Gonyer, one of the owners of Call of the Canyon Cafe, was handing out red velvet truffles smothered in chocolate icing.
By mid-way point of the crawl, Gonyer estimated he had served about 250 people. He wasn’t worried, since he made extra – knowing the staff would want to taste test the truffles.
“We wanted to give back and do something for United Way,” Gonyer said. “And we wanted to get our name out in front of new customers.”
A lot of crawlers commented that they would be coming back to the stores to shop – once their focus was no longer on chocolate.
In addition to businesses, the annual chocolate crawl also partnered with community groups like the American Red Cross, The Cocoon, Community Learning Center STARS, and Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
“It winds up being a win-win,” for everyone involved, said Erin Hachtel, area director for United Way of Wood County. United Way got some needed funding, local businesses catered to potential patrons, and chocolate lovers went home with bags full of sweet treats.
