Colorado’s famous hotel, The Stanley Hotel, now has a fun venue along Elkhorn: The Stanley Chocolate Factory. What is it all about? It’s more than chocolate, that’s for sure.
Stanley Hotel Owner Converts Former Church Into ‘Chocolate Factory’
It took me by surprise, as friends and I were walking along Elkhorn in Estes Park (as tens of thousands of visitors to every year;) a building that resembles the Stanley Hotel with a sign: ‘The Stanley Chocolate Factory.’ I was very curious as to what exactly the “factory” is.
Before it became the Stanley Chocolate Factory, the building was known as The Old Church Shops, and before that, it was a church that dated back to 1909.
According to the Estes Valley Voice, the man who has owned the Stanley Hotel since 1995, John Cullen, bought what was once a church, and renovated it to be place where several things are happening inside. He must have spent a lot to transform it all, it sounds like it was worth it.
The Stanley Chocolate Factory will have lots of chocolate and candy, but also the opportunity for visitors to create their own candy bars with the assistance of professional chocolatiers. Kids and adults alike will enjoy that, I think.
The Stanley Chocolate Factory is More Than Just Chocolate
The Stanley Chocolate Factory, which officially opens on July 4, 2025, also has a coffee shop on the main floor and a restaurant on its rooftop, run by the owner of a well-known BBQ food truck in the area, WesTexBBQ…