After a successful start through exclusively online sales, Porter Hill Sweets opened its doors last week at its location in New Ipswich’s historic Center Village.
“This has been a long time coming for us,” said William Poole, a chef who describes himself as “more of a confectioner than a baker.”
Poole and his partner moved into a 1790 home on Porter Hill Road in March of 2015. It’s their 11th historic home, including previous ones in Denver and New Orleans, which they turned into a bed and breakfast. The house in New Ipswich used to be a B&B, and they hope to turn it back into one.
But first, they set up their chocolate shop.
“It’s beyond passion at this point,” Poole said. “It’s an obsession and an art and you can make something someone can enjoy and eat as well.”
His first storefront was in Denver and only 200 square feet; now he sells from what used to be the carriage house at the Porter Hill Road property.
To add to the vintage quality of the chocolate shop, Poole built the fixtures with scraps from the house and uses antique molds for his products.
One such mold is from an antique store in Milford and could date as far back as the 1870s.
“I go around and how could you not want to work with these molds?” he said. “And to think, you’re looking at something that people haven’t seen in so many years.”
The first day in Porter Hill Sweets was busy, and Poole was moved by the turnout from friends and neighbors, including an old friend who surprised him by renting a car to drive from Boston.
Many of the customers from the area cited his appearances on the Food Network for introducing them to his work (he is also in talks to partner with the Today Show). Some also noted how much they enjoy having new businesses come to New Ipswich.
“I wanted to do it all through the town,” Poole said. “The way cottage law is I just got my license to sell from the house.”
He is only open three days a week so he can work in the kitchen the rest of the week to keep the supply of chocolate coming.
The store is in what was once a gift shop for the bed and breakfast.
“We’ve been working on this for a long time,” Poole said. “Since we moved in we’ve done nothing but work on this house.”
Poole called the effort to restore historic homes “a labor of love,” but does not plan to leave New Ipswich, saying he misses the house when he goes out and that this will be their last stop.
And he’ll continue working on his chocolate shop, a way of sharing his craft and bringing people to the landmark home.
He said, “I’m looking forward to getting to know people in the community a little bit more.”