Tim Gearhart has fed Marines, cowboys, English aristocrats, and die-hard UVA basketball followers. However it’s the chocolate he’s made in Charlottesville for the final quarter-century that simply earned him the most important headline of his profession.

Twenty-five years after he opened Gearharts Effective Goodies, USA Right now has named it the No. 1 chocolate store within the nation for 2026. But the highest chocolatier’s path began removed from the tempering machines that outline his enterprise right this moment. Within the Nineteen Eighties, he washed dishes at Duner’s in Charlottesville, labored his method as much as busboy, then enlisted as a prepare dinner within the Marine Corps—a spontaneous escape plan that occurred to double as culinary boot camp.

“There’s not a lot of a distinction between making 1,000 omelets and 10,000 candies,” Gearhart says. “It’s the identical mentality.” After 4 years within the Marines, he used the GI Invoice to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., then spent years as a pastry chef in small luxurious accommodations around the globe. Someplace between the petit fours and frangipane tarts, chocolate gained him over—its precision and method suited him completely.

Gearhart moved again to Charlottesville in 2000. A reunion along with his outdated boss, Invoice Hamilton, of Hamilton’s on Essential, sparked an thought: An artisanal chocolate store belonged in a city with Charlottesville’s meals scene. The 2 partnered up, and Gearharts Effective Goodies opened simply earlier than Christmas in 2001— development delays and all, which compelled Gearhart to hand-dip that first vacation season’s value of candies solo out of a bare-bones kitchenette. That scrappy setup is the place he fine-tuned the recipes that also outline the store right this moment. 

The store now seems greater than 12,000 candies every day through the holidays, up from 500 in these early days—however the elements and requirements haven’t budged an inch.

36,000 Kilos a 12 months, Zero Shortcuts

Each two months, Gearharts imports 6,000 kilos of South American chocolate, paired solely with recent elements—no components, no preservatives. The completed candies, truffles, and confections ship to all 50 states and promote out of two storefronts: the unique in Charlottesville and a second in Richmond’s Brief Pump.

Sixteen core candies anchor the lineup, together with Raspberry-Zinfandel and Almond Mocha, alongside rotating seasonal specialties. Gearhart’s personal favourite is the Malted Milk Hazelnut, impressed by a childhood milkshake reminiscence.

In summer season 2025, he expanded the empire with James River Chocolate Co., a sister model producing what he calls “crave-worthy and snackably Southern” toffee bark—toffee bits are, in his phrases, the key weapon. For America’s 250th anniversary, he added a brand new taste to the lineup: Blue Ridge Bark. 

Each storefronts double as chocolate-forward cafés, serving ache au chocolat and a rotating cookie and brownie choice, plus wine tastings, personal excursions, and chocolate-making courses for guests who need to go deeper than the show case.

Giving Again, Charlottesville-Fashion

Gearhart’s charitable streak runs as deep as his chocolate stash. Through the years, Gearharts has supported native silent auctions and elementary faculty fundraisers, and donated greater than $18,000 to Companions for Heroes in 2013. A portion of James River Chocolate Co.’s Gunny’s Bark gross sales—named as a nod to Marine Corps drill instructors—goes to the Marine Corps Heritage Basis.

Native ties present up on the menu, too: A Monticello honeycomb-infused darkish chocolate bar makes use of honey sourced straight from the bees at Jefferson’s property. And there’s extra within the works—Gearhart is teasing an upcoming ice cream collaboration with Charlottesville’s Sugar Bear, particulars nonetheless below wraps.

The Large Win

USA Right now’s Reader’s Alternative award for the nation’s greatest unbiased chocolate store launched in 2023. A judges’ panel narrows the sphere to 10 finalists every year earlier than the general public vote decides the winner. This yr, Gearharts beat out prime contenders from Florida and Texas to say the crown.

“It’s an ideal storm of nice folks, innovation, and simply being devoted to the craft,” Gearhart says. “I really like chocolate, and it’s arduous for that to not present in your work.” Gearhart was sworn to secrecy for weeks after USA Right now tipped him off—no small feat for somebody itching to thank the Charlottesville locals who voted the store into the highest ranks. He’s fast to credit score the win to the broader Virginia meals scene, not simply his personal kitchen.

Twenty-five years in, Gearhart chalks up the store’s endurance to flexibility, creativity, and quick-on-your-feet considering. “Between the trials,  tribulations, and retail craziness, I’m fortunate to guide a enterprise that brings a lot happiness,” he says. “Happiness is the enterprise we’re in, and that’s an amazing feeling.” GearhartsChocolates.com 

This text initially appeared within the October 2026 problem.