Charlottesville-based Gearharts Fine Chocolates, which is owned by Tim Gearhart, recently bought local chocolate bar maker Miss Maude’s. (Photo courtesy Gearharts)
Nearly three years after reopening its local outpost, Charlottesville-based Gearharts Fine Chocolates has scooped up a fellow sweets maker that until recently operated a store in Henrico.
Gearharts recently acquired local candy bar maker Miss Maude’s Bar of Chocolates.
Tim Gearhart said that Miss Maude’s had long been on his radar, and when he learned the nearly decade-old company was on the market, it seemed like a good opportunity to expand his business with a brand known for its bars made of eight differently flavored chocolate squares.
“I was familiar with Miss Maude’s just in general, because I’m obviously keenly interested in what other folks are doing with chocolate. I remember thinking that was a pretty good idea,” Gearhart said of Miss Maude’s eight-flavored bars. “I liked the approach because I had never seen anything like that and I love when someone brings something new to the market.”
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Miss Maude’s continues to operate with the same employees and as a distinctly branded subsidiary of Gearharts following the deal.
Miss Maude’s bars are being produced at the Gearharts store and dessert cafe in Short Pump, which opened in early 2024, about a year after the company closed its previous Richmond-area outpost near Libbie and Grove.
Jessica Leonard
As part of the acquisition, Miss Maude’s sole retail location, which was at 8801 Three Chopt Road near Freeman High School in Henrico, was closed in recent weeks.
The seller was Miss Maude’s founder Jessica Leonard, who opened her store in 2018, and said she wanted to pass the business on to a new owner who could inject new life into the concept. After listing the business and weighing a few potential buyers, Leonard quickly settled on Gearhart to carry the brand forward.
“I felt I’d taken the business as far as I could, and it needed some fresh energy. But I also really wanted it to exist,” Leonard said. “They’ve been doing it a very long time. They understand chocolate. It’s not somebody who’s just like, ‘Oh, I like chocolate. I’ll do this.’”
Gearhart said the two brands would complement each other, noting the company he and Bill Hamilton founded 25 years ago is oriented primarily toward brick-and-mortar retail, while Miss Maude’s primarily sells through wholesale and online channels.
“You could argue they are similar in a lot of ways,” Gearhart said. “I think to me it’s a different direction and leans toward a different client.”
Gearharts operates a shop in its hometown of Charlottesville, where it makes its chocolate. In addition to its retail outposts, Gearharts sells its products in about 150 stores, which are primarily independent retailers but also include a few Whole Foods and Wegmans locations. Miss Maude’s products are available at more than 40 stores.
Miss Maude’s bars are now being sold at the Gearharts at 11301 W. Broad St. in Short Pump, and were expected to be soon introduced to the Gearharts in Charlottesville.
The acquisition of Miss Maude’s expands the Gearharts portfolio, which also includes James River Chocolate Co. Gearharts has about 30 year-round employees following the Miss Maude’s deal, which was finalized in August. Gearharts acquired the rights to the Miss Maude’s brand and intellectual property as well as the company’s recipes and equipment.
Leonard, who has a background in finance, said she’s still mulling her next professional move.
“I need to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. I think at this point, starting a new business is a little daunting because I know too much,” Leonard said. “But I’m sure in the next few years, I’ll forget.”
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