Award-winning St. Croix Chocolate Co. sold to St. Paul chocolatier

It’s a new era for the award-winning St. Croix Chocolate Co. as founders Robyn Dochterman and Deidre Pope sell their business to Jason Moldan of the Minnesota Chocolate Lab. The official changeover comes Sept. 9.

Opened in 2010 after Dochterman discovered a deep passion and curiosity in crafting fine chocolates, she and partner Pope started the small shop in a little gray house in Marine on St. Croix. The chocolates, as revered for their beauty as their intensely built flavors, quickly grew in popularity and acclaim. In 2023, St. Croix Chocolate Company’s bonbons brought home two medals in the world’s largest chocolate competition.

The business was a second-act career move. Dochterman had originally been a journalist for the Star Tribune who says she begged Pope to leave her desk job to join in the adventure.

The two will now retire, deciding to sell after Dochterman developed work-related arthritis and tendinitis. The couple say that they “had their pick of new owners,” and are confident in Moldan’s abilities.

Moldan also comes to the company — and chocolate — as a second-act career after retiring from the U.S. Army Reserve. He discovered his passion for chocolate during the pandemic, which eventually led to opening the Minnesota Chocolate Lab in St. Paul. Moldan also teaches classes at Cooks of Crocus Hill.

“I immersed myself in mastering techniques, sourcing the best ingredients and experimenting with flavors,” Moldan said in a statement. “I’m honored to carry forward the tradition Robyn and Deidre built, while bringing my own creativity to the shop.”

St. Croix Chocolate Co. will continue to operate with its standard hours during the handoff. The storefront will host a meet and greet with Moldan Sept. 6 from noon to 2 p.m. and Sept. 18 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“It’s time to move on to my next chapter,” Dochterman said in a statement. “Chocolate — and particularly the SCCC shop — is where I dreamed big and chased my vision. It’s where I filled my soul with the love of constantly learning and the energy of creativity.”

Dochterman said next she and Pope will plant a chestnut orchard and do what they’ve always done together: see what grows.