Yesterday was the official opening of the Li-Lac chocolate factory at Industry City in Sunset Park. In a way there is a small amount of irony in the event considering that Sunset Park has one of the largest Mexican communities in New York City and the Cocoa plant had it's origins in Mexico. So in a way it's kind of like things coming full circle. If you're interested in the history of chocolate here are a couple of links to give you some heads up on it, Wikipedia and Smithsonian. The facilities are rather spacious at more than 10,000 square feet and Li-Lac seems to be happy in their new home. They've been making chocolate since 1923 and have been around longer than any other still existing New York chocolatier. I was honored to be invited to the official opening of their new home in Brooklyn. We hope that as our local economy continues to improve they will become a long time resident of the neighborhood as well as a fixture of Sunset Park..
The festivities began at eleven with a tour of the factory as the main guests began to arrive. Among the luminaries in attendance were Borough president Eric Adams, Councilman Carlos Menchaca, Congressman Jerrold Nadler and others.We got a tour of the factory facilities and got to taste many samplings of the many chocolate varieties that the factory produces. The CEO of Industry City and the many politicians on hand made brief speeches welcoming Li-Lac to Sunset Park and I was lucky enough to get an invite to the mostly private ceremony. The official Grand Opening to the public is this Saturday and I will post details elsewhere on this blog. In the meantime, here's a pictorial preview of the facilities as well as some shots of the brief ceremony..
Yours truly at the entrance store in the Li-Lac factory.
Putting the finishing touches on the goodies.. 
Dignitaries at one of the assembly lines before the ceremony, Menchaca, Adams, Nadler and others.
Sample yummies made of chocolate on display.
Packaging the goodies..
Some sample chocolates..
More yummy samples..
Heres a nice chocolate chess set where you can eat the pieces that you win from your opponent..
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