CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 15 L L FAMILY DENTISTRY LEWIS From preventative teeth cleanings to complex restorations to Invisalign, we offer comprehensive dental services for the entire family. Come visit LEWIS FAMILY DENTISTRY, where we treat all of our patients like family. Voted BEST DENTIST three years in a row! 4140 RAMSEY STREET, STE 104 FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28311 www.lewis-dentistry.com LEWIS FAMILY DENTISTRY (910) 488-0518 "People enjoy chocolate," she says. "I think the idea that they can splurge makes them feel good." e family had several locations, including the Point News building, over the eight years they lived downtown. She, her parents and her two sisters shared a lo apartment above one shop. She remembers a big Willie Wonka mural that was painted in one of the storefronts. Nelson works five days a week in the body shop at Cross Creek Subaru filing insurance claims. But on nights and weekends, she is preparing to open her own bake shop, Carolina Chocolate Chip, at 7639 Clinton Road in Stedman in the office of a former used-car lot. She already has updated the plumbing and electric service, and she notes proudly that it passed a state health inspection. A sliding glass "to-go" window was installed by her grandfather, and a lot of the interior work was done by her fiancé. A plumber who was a friend of her father offered good terms on payment. Nelson has been selling baked goods wholesale to the Downtown Market on Hay Street for about four years. Her chocolates include gi boxes of truffles and shapes that reflect her customers' personalities. Got a thing for scuba diving? She'll find a shark mold. She recently catered the reveal of the "Distinctly Fayetteville" rebranding campaign for the Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, incorporating the blue and red lettering of the new logo. Nelson is taking orders online as she gears up her Stedman bake shop. Valentine's Day and other holidays are a boost for sales of chocolate goodies. At Christmas, hot chocolate bombs are — well, da bomb. Her best sellers are truffles, with chocolate shells and a ganache center in flavors such as Irish crème and kalua. Other treats for chocolate lovers are caramels with a so center and fudge, plain and peanut butter. In the future, she hopes to add ice cream and, maybe, outdoor seating. So how does a baker who specializes in chocolate satisfy her own sweet tooth? "I really don't eat chocolate anymore," she says. "My fiancé is my No. 1 taste tester."

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