Mary Beth and Jason Boardman, who purchased the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in January, reopened the doors of the downtown shop after a short closure in October to replace the flooring, and refresh the space.

“We had no choice but to change (the floor) in our back room, which is not customer facing, Mary Beth said. “But given the fact that the back room was a different floor from the floor behind our candy cases, which was a different floor that was facing in front of the candy cases, which was different than the floor that was at the front door. We decided to actually change the entire thing and make it cohesive.”

The owners closed the shop Oct. 13 and the work was completed by Oct. 30 in time for the downtown Halloween Stroll.

“Steamboat Springs has been our home since 2014, and it means the world to welcome our neighbors back into a refreshed, warm space,” Mary Beth said. “Our team, led by Eric (Dominguez) has poured a lot of pride into this reopening and we can’t wait to share what’s new, alongside the classics our guests love.”

 The Boardmans split their time between Florida and s second home Stagecoach which they purchased in 2014. Mary Beth, a gynecologist, and Jason, a general surgeon, were thrilled when they learned about the opportunity to purchase the Steamboat Springs business in the fall of 2024 and saw it as an opportunity to spend more time in the place they have loved for years. Mary Beth said the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has been a franchise in Steamboat Springs for 30 years.

“For us as a family, (The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory) has been part of our vacations when our children were little,” Mary Beth said. “We would end up stopping in at the store every vacation, getting some treats and having them for the week. It was a big part of our vacation experiences when we were out in Steamboat … we’ve been looking for the last few years for a business that we could start to run that would help us get out into Steamboat more permanently.”

Mary Beth said the floors at the shop are just the beginning and the location will close again in May as the franchisor, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, will be doing a brand remodel. That means a true remodel and refresh of the Steamboat Springs store, located at 624 Lincoln Avenue, which offers handmade chocolates, ice cream, milk shakes and chocolate dipped fruit along with other sweet treats to residents and visitors.  The shop takes pride in its apples that are dipped in Carmel.

The shop is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m-8 p.m. on Sunday.

“It’s a combination of our, you know, it’s our labor of love, our passion project, our therapy from the other jobs that we have. And it’s really been a lot of fun, you know, continuing to bring it up to where we want it to be.”