Greenville's Chocolate Moose Bakery announces it will close at the end of the month

It’s been four years since three friends stepped out on a limb and took over ownership of a cupcake shop in downtown Greenville. In that time, Emily Copp, Anne Marie O’Hara and Elizabeth Gibbs turned The Chocolate Moose Bakery & Café into a popular destination not only for cupcakes, but for cookies, for wine, for coffee and for catering.

But coronavirus has changed all that, and now, five months into weathering the storm the pandemic has waged against all, but particularly against small businesses, the three owners have decided to close their shop.

The Chocolate Moose will serve customers through Aug. 29. M. Judson, where the bakery is located, remains open.

“For us, this has been five months of trying to reinvent our business every day, every week, every month and just finally realizing and making the call that it’s not gonna be sustainable,” said Emily Copp, speaking by phone just after the owners posted the closing announcement on their social media channels.

When coronavirus hit, The Chocolate Moose was coming off the best January and February sales since Copp, O’Hara and Gibbs took over in March 2016.

They weathered the storm as they could, Copp said. They added online ordering, worked on promotions and did cupcake kits. They successfully got a PPP loan, which helped.

But after months of trying to reinvent the business day in and day out, and the already slim margins food businesses have, and no real positive shift on the horizon, the three owners have decided to move on.

Even so, they feel successful, Copp said.

“I think success is more than just sales,” Copp said. “And while we did have success in our sales, we also think we left it better than we started. We had a wider reach and positive relationships with current and former employees, and we learned a lot of things, good and bad.

“The lessons learned always got us to a better place.”

The Chocolate Moose Café will remain open through Aug. 29 at 130 S. Main St., Greenville

Hours are 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday.

For more visit thechocolatemoosesc.com

Lillia Callum-Penso covers food for The Greenville News. She can be reached at lpenso@greenvillenews.com or at 864-478-5872, or on Facebook atfacebook.com/lillia.callumpenso.