Charlie's Chocolate Factory
DeFluri’s 12,000 square-foot factory is located in historic Martinsburg, West Virginia, in the heart of the city’s main business district. The expansive 50’s-era building once housed a McCroy’s Five & Dime store, which still features a soda-fountain lunch counter, time-clock with original punch cards, and other vintage memorabilia.
Today, of course, the main factory floor houses the vast array of Charlie Casabona’s chocolate-making equipment.
Behind the scenes at DeFluri’s Fine Chocolates: The factory floor enjoys a quite moment before the chocolate makers arrive for their daily shifts.
Massive mixers swirl vats of creamy chocolate. Finely calibrated conveyer belts enrobe DeFluri’s famous truffles, classic caramels and nuts, fruit cakes from a local monestary, and much more—with velvety, rich coats of chocolate. Walk-in refrigeration rooms keep the final products and their ingredients at optimum cool temperatures.
Flowing fantasies. Chocolate must be mixed and heated to an exact consistency before running through the enrober.
Factory foreman and chocolatier Charlie Casabona oversees operation and maintenance of all equipment (here shown amidst the controls of the enrober).
