Why does downtown Chicago smell like Hot Chocolate?
 

I just returned home from a weekend in Chicago - stayed at the Amalfi, which I really liked. When I walked outside of the hotel this morning I smelled Hot Chocolate EVERYWHERE I went. I walked to the House of Blues for the Gospel Brunch (not worth the $$$ in my book) and smelled Hot Chocolate. Walked to Bloomies - Hot Chocolate - Michigan Ave from Bloomies to Nordstrom - Hot Chocolate. What's up? I seriously thought that maybe Starbucks was having a rush on hot cocoa due to the strong cold winds today, or maybe the new Hershey Chocolate Store is piping it in the air to attract pedestrians to their store????

flagging--I can't wait to hear the answer to this. :-D

I am very interested in an explanation for this. I was in Chicago at the end of September and went on the architectural river cruise and several times during the cruise my friends and I wondered "why does it smell like chocolate?"

It's wafting over from the Blommer chocolate factory on W. Kinzie Street.

that's really funny. is it like willy wonka?

Not so funny to some -- the EPA recently cited this factory.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/...ocolate04.html

I asked that same question. Where's my Chicago trip report? As I recall, the chocolate produced smells better than it tastes. I think they also use the remnants for mulch. Anyway, it does smell nice, doesn't it? :D

Can you tour that chocolate factory? This post is enough to make me want to take my daughter back to Chicago for her birthday (she's a big chocolate fan). I think it would be nice to smell chocolate everywhere, although we were there 3 yrs. ago for her birthday in Jan. and didn't smell any chocolate...

If your daughter likes chocolate you have to go back to Chicago just to visit the new Hershey Store ~ convienently located across from the Ghirardelli store - it is quite something!

I can't wait to tell my friends who were with me in Chicago that I wasn't crazy and there really WAS chocolate in the air!

Definately Blommers, the EPA citation is just silly, if they really want to cite something for creating noxious oders, they ought to cite the alley between Randolph and Washington on Wells, I walk past it every day and it reeks.

I saw the Blommer's story on the local news. Haven't ever noticed the smell. But this sort of struck me funny as I've been told that the suburb where we live used to smell like chocolate 24/7. The Ovaltine factory used to be in the heart of town. Sadly, it is no more. The building has been converted to condos.

oh, how I wish I could edit my own posts for spelling errors ... sigh.

Years ago I used to work near the Lifesavor Building. The air always smelled of cherry Lifesavors! Sadly, the building was turned into condos. But I suppose the people living around the building were pretty sick and tired of cherry Lifesavors, lol.

vittrad,
i totally agree. i blame the dumpsters from haifa cafe.

i love the chocolate smell, but hate that it makes me want to break every good intention ;)

If your daughter likes Chocolate go to Hershy Penn. Chocolate theme parks,chocolate smells,and lots of treats everywhere....hmmm maybe I should go to Hershey myself!

Some of the Metra trains go right by the Blommer factory on the way into Union Station. Though all my years of commuting into the city for work, it was not uncommon to get a nice whiff of chocolate - most often in the mornings and during cooler months, IIRC.

My apologies for potentially highjacking your thread but this made me wonder -- NYers out there.... did "they" ever figure out where the maple syrup smell in the air that one night a few weeks ago came from or what caused it????

It's the Blommer located just outside the downtown -- if the wind is blowing just right you'll get the scent.

I always catch a wonderful whiff when heading into the Merchandise Mart... I always wondered... figured there was a choc factory somewhere nearby. It does tantalize the senses, eh? @};-

I've never smelled chocolate downtown- I must be going by the same alley as Vittrad. Coming back from the White Sox rally on Oct. 28 we hit a couple of sewer-smell alley passages.

There was a time when most of the candy AND chocolate was made in Chicagoland because of railroad/sugar/corn facility connections and great labor. Mars,Dove, Tootsie Roll, Brach's, Fannie May, besides all the Marshall Field specialities. The new Fannie May is NOT the same. Almost all are gone now.

I grew up not that far from the Nabisco plant on Kedzie- so I could always tell when it was peanut butter cookie day or vanilla wafer. Great aromoas!!! My favorite Girl Scout activity was going to the tour to see my Aunt on the Pretzel line.

We have one expressway that my guy calls the S--T Sandwich because when going down it to work he used to get the poop ponds (sewerage clearing fields and utility) and then get the Wonderbread Factory. You Chicagoans know what I mean.

All my downtown working life, Chicago smelt like the interior of buses mixed with heavy carmel corn (Garretts) and White Castle onion/hamburger smells. Honest! Buses had no a.c. nor windows that opened either- used to take Archer Ave. for almost 2/3rds of its length.

Now chocolate! That's rather nice and kind of ironic seeing that 2/3rds of the world's candy production left Chicago.