Fascia’s Chocolates president Carmen Romeo has a sweet job.
“I still have a vision that until everybody has had a piece of Fascia’s Chocolates, then my job's not done,” Romeo told the CBIA BizCast.
But Romeo wasn’t always in the chocolate business.
As an engineer, Romeo spent the first part of his career working for different manufacturing companies in different parts of the country.
In 1995, he met his wife Louise, the daughter of John and Helen Fascia, the founders of Fascia’s Chocolates.
“When you marry into the family, you learn quickly about the business,” Romeo said.
Fascia’s has been part of the Waterbury community for 60 years, ever since John Fascia started the business in his basement when Helen was pregnant with Louise.
“He just wanted to make a little extra money,” Romeo said.
“He would go to New York and buy nuts—literally, big bags of nuts—and re-bag them and sell them to his coworkers.
“And somebody finally said, ‘You should put chocolate with those.’”
Fourteen years later, the business outgrew the basement and moved into its first retail store, even though John Fascia was still working full-time as an electronic technician.
“When they finally went all in in 1985 it was a risk, but they had enough of a following that they were able to stay and grow,” Romeo said.
Things changed in 2008, when the Fascias were notified that their lease was ending.
“They’re forced to move without a retirement plan,” Romeo said. “And that was really when it was a little bit of crisis mode.”
At the same time, the company Romeo was working for was moving and he didn’t want to move with it.
“So I convinced my wife that we should be in the chocolate business,” he said.
Romeo said it wasn’t always easy, but they were able to slowly rebuild.
That rebuilding process began with the product itself, still made the old fashioned way.
“The product is as pure as it’s ever been, and as long as I’m around, we’ll stay that way,” he said.
Romeo’s main goal early on was getting the company more well known.
Romeo said they began doing events, like chocolate lessons teaching people about making truffles or pairing classes.
“We then focused on, not only making and selling chocolate, but what we call experiencing your chocolate,” Romeo said.
He said that helped them buy the building they are in today, setting themselves up for future growth.
Romeo said the company has evolved to focus on retail, tourism, and an expanding wholesale market.
You can now find the company’s chocolates in 135 locations—and counting.
The company also offers custom orders for businesses, including using company logos to create molded chocolates for branded boxes.
“It comes down to the product itself,” Romeo said. “If I can get it into people’s mouths, it usually does the job.”
Romeo said that it’s not always easy to do business in Connecticut, but he’s motivated to keep it going as a testament to his in-laws and the legacy they created.
“I want to be able to live on the business,” he said. “I want to be able to say it was successful.
“But the legacy from my in laws—it’s the family name, and I don’t ever forget that. It’s the family name.”
And Romeo said he hopes that legacy will continue with the next generation.
His son has joined the family business as wholesale manager.
In the end, Romeo said the goal is to keep creating memories for their customers.
“When a mother comes in with her daughter and says, ‘I had Fascia’s at my wedding as a favor, now my daughter is going to have it as a favor,’ there’s nothing more gratifying than that,” he said.
“That’s the legacy that we want to continue.”
Related Links
Fascia’s Chocolates
Website: https://faschoc.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fascia's-chocolate's/
Carmen Romeo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmenromeo/
CBIA
Website: https://www.cbia.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/