The owners of North Chocolate have applied to the City of Yellowknife for a development permit to use the first floor of a former veterinary clinic on Woolgar Avenue as a chocolate production kitchen and retail store.
Hamza El Ghazlani and Yassine Riahi launched North Chocolate in late 2024, starting at holiday markets.
The pair’s handcrafted chocolates, which are currently made in a small commercial kitchen in Yellowknife, can now be found at several grocery stores and businesses.
“So far, so good,” El Ghazlani said. “It’s been a very, very successful year.”
Since launching, North Chocolate has expanded the variety of flavours it offers. Riahi said the company released special editions for Christmas and is planning a luxury edition.
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“It’s been a very good step up for us and we can’t wait for the future,” Riahi said.
Now, El Ghazlani and Riahi hope to open their own production kitchen and store in the city.
“We want to make something for Yellowknife because they deserve a good thing,” El Ghazlani said.
If the development permit is approved and everything goes according to plan, Riahi said the store could open in the spring.
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Alongside their signature chocolates, Riahi said they hope to offer gelato and other Italian desserts, such as tiramisu.
“We want to make it a spot for everyone to enjoy,” he said.
El Ghazlani and Riahi said their chocolate and its packaging are inspired by the North.
“North Chocolate is made in the North for the North and it will be always for the North,” Riahi said.
“Our ultimate goal, we want to see North Chocolate around Canada – and why not around the world?”
The building on Woolgar Avenue that may become home to the new chocolate shop formerly housed the Yellowknife Veterinary Clinic.
The CBC reported the clinic temporarily closed in August due to a family emergency before the building was sold to a new owner.
According to the veterinary clinic’s website, it is now permanently closed and patient records have been transferred to Aurora Veterinary Hospital, which opened last year.
Dr Michael Hughes, who owned the Yellowknife Veterinary Clinic, did not respond to a request for comment.
