Hotel Chocolat Celebrates the Grand Opening of its Oakbrook Center Chocolate Shop and Café with Series of August Events

Chicago, IL (August 14, 2026) – Hotel Chocolat is bringing chocolate fans in Chicago a sweet summer escape with the opening of its permanent chocolate shop and café locations at Oakbrook Center. Marking thebrand’s sixth location in the Chicagoland area, this opening represents another expansion of the premium British chocolatier and cacao grower’s footprint in the Windy City, this time, exploring the ethos of the brand's own 140-acre working cacao farm in Saint Lucia with the local community during a series of events surrounding its opening weeks.

Beginning opening weekend on Saturday, August 15, the first 200 visitors who purchase $50 worth of chocolate from the chocolate shop will receive a gift with purchase featuring a selecion of Hotel Chocolat’s best-selling chocolates: Dapper Dogs, Salted Caramel Brownie Selector, & Isabelle Florentine Selectors*.

Later in the month, from August 28-30, Hotel Chocolat welcomes chocolate lovers and those looking for the ultimate summer escape to embarkk on a guided chocolate sampling journey.

Before the season shifts, 300 visitors to the café and chocolate shop storefronts can grab a “Saint Lucia Escape Passport” to collect stamps at interactive tasting and educational points across both spaces.

Throughout the weekend, the first 100 guests each day to collect all passport stamps from the sampling stations with receive a free Hotel Chocolat tote bag.

While stamping their “Escape to Saint Lucia” passport, fans will have the opportunity to experience:

The brand's signature Ice Cream of the Gods soft serve, made by infusing rich Jersey milk and cream with crushed, roasted cacao nibs for 48 hours and making for the ultimate creamy treat.

A Velvetiser station serving Hotel Chocolat’s luxuriously velvety cold and hot drinking chocolate.

Chocolates from the Wall of Chocolate, Hotel Chocolat’s signature in-store display that features a rotating variety of chocolate selector flavors. Visitors who love what they try can always mix and match any three for $20.

"We’re eager to welcome the community into our beautiful new space in the Oakbrook Center shopping and entertainment district,” said Kelly Goering, General Manager, Hotel Chocolat US. “When we first opened Hotel Chocolat last holiday as a pop-up seasonal location, we knew instantly that it was a place where we could put down our ‘cacao-tree’ roots.

Fans of Hotel Chocolat who experienced us in our downtown Chicago stores were eager for a café location in our permanent home at Oakbrook Center. This expansion into a dual-location chocolate shop and walk-up café reflects our desire for people to experience the full breadth of Hotel Chocolat. On the retail side, consumers will experience our expansive gifting chocolate, magical seasonal specialties, and delectable at home drinking chocolate. Across the courtyard, they will be able to try our café offerings – like our iced and hot drinking chocolate, along with our epic shake drinks. With summer still in full swing, I’m personally excited to share our iconic Ice Cream of the Gods soft-serve and our legendary Wall of Chocolate!”

From their interactive tasting stations to the drinking chocolate café, Hotel Chocolat is thrilled to give local chocolate lovers a whole new way to experience their favorite treat. The new Hotel Chocolat café and chocolate shop will be located at 100 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Location hours are Monday - Saturday: 10AM - 9PM and Sunday: 11AM - 7PM.

This Oakbrook Center debut represents an exciting milestone for Hotel Chocolat as it brings its signature "more cacao, less sugar" philosophy to a major new retail destination in the western suburbs. For more information, please visit us.hotelchocolat.com.

*While supplies last, selectors are subject to change based on availability.

**While supplies last, samples are subject to change based on availability.

About Hotel Chocolat | us.hotelchocolat.com:

Luxury cacao grower and chocolatier, Hotel Chocolat, was founded in 2004 to make exciting chocolate with three guiding principles – authenticity, orginality, and ethics. These principles remain central to the brand’s success today. From its sustainable cacao farm in Saint Lucia to its chocolate manufacturing facility in Cambridgeshire, UK, Hotel Chocolat connects every part of the journey – from tree to consumer. With a growing portfolio of stores in the UK and internationally, the brand continues to push boundaries of how chocolate is cultivated, crafted and enjoyed, by marrying sustainable cacao agriculture with the hedonism of top-quality chocolate, Hotel Chocolat reinvents the chocolate experience to make both people and nature happy.