Kent Bakke opens chocolate store in Ballard

One of the biggest names in Seattle coffee has opened a chocolate shop in Ballard.

Kent Bakke is the espresso-equipment whiz who bought much of La Marzocco's manufacturing plant in Florence, Italy, in 1994 and made La Marzocco espresso machines in Ballard for the next 10 years. After Starbucks switched to automated espresso machines, the Ballard factory closed.

Bakke continues to co-own La Marzocco's plant in Florence, but he now spends about a third of his time on a new venture: Claudio Corallo Chocolate.

Corallo is a friend from the coffee world who fled his plantations in Zaire because of political upheaval. Now he lives, farms cocoa beans and makes chocolate bars on the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe in the Gulf of Guinea off the west coast of Africa.

Bakke visited Corallo there in 2002. He became a business partner on the cocoa plantation, and almost two years ago began selling Corallo's chocolate in the U.S. with James Clark, another longtime coffee man.

The chocolate has a clean flavor without the bitterness that often accompanies dark chocolate. Bakke credits the high quality of Corallo's cocoa beans, which come from heirloom-style plants that have not been genetically altered since they arrived from Brazil in the 1820s. Corallo also does not conch, an aeration process meant to reduce acidity and bitterness.

"Claudio says those flavors shouldn't be there in the first place," Bakke said.

Claudio Corallo Chocolate is sold in specialty stores in Europe and the U.S., including Caffé Vita in Olympia, the new Chocolopolis on Queen Anne and DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine in Pike Place Market.

U.S. sales have moved slowly and remain below $100,000 a year.

Corallo hopes to boost sales with two new retail stores, one run by his wife, Bettina, in Lisbon, Portugal, and the Ballard shop opened last week.

Bakke and Clark went for a low-key approach in Ballard with no picture windows, no big sign out front and nobody serving chocolate on silver trays with white gloves. The shop feels more like an office-reception area than a retail store.

"It's almost hidden in the sense that you need to discover it," Bakke explained.

Clark adds that the store's concept fits with Corallo's simple, down-to-earth style.

It may be spare, but the store has everything for enjoying chocolate, from tables and stools to photographs of Corallo's plantation to bags of chocolate bars that run $12 to $14 for 3.52 ounces.

"We want to hold up a mirror to what happens on the plantation itself, and do as little as possible to get in the way," Clark said.

— Melissa Allison

Live piano music has returned to Nordstrom's Bellevue Square store. The store's piano was put in storage during a 16-month renovation that ended in May. The manager had planned to donate the piano to charity and go with commercially recorded music, but "a lot of positive feedback" from customers changed her mind, said Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White. The store will have live piano music 25 to 35 hours a week, White said. — AM

Top Pot Doughnuts opened in Bellevue on Thursday, its first shop outside Seattle. The chain has four stores in Seattle, including the original shop that opened on Capitol Hill in 2002. It was started by brothers Mark and Michael Klebeck and Joel Radin, and their doughnuts are now sold in more than 7,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada. The new Top Pot is in Washington Square, at 10600 N.E. 9th Place. — MA

Zounds Hearing, a Mesa, Ariz.-based maker of hearing aids, will celebrate the opening of two new stores in the Seattle area next week with appearances by Seahawks wide receiver Deion Branch. The first takes place Monday at 12:30 p.m. at Avalon Meydenbauer in Bellevue. The second is Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila. — AM

Jones Soda has hired Michael O'Brien as chief financial officer effective Sept. 2, replacing Hassan Natha, who "plans to pursue other interests," according to a news release. O'Brien most recently was chief financial officer at Pyramid Breweries, which sold this month to Magic Hat Brewing Co. & Performing Arts Center of Vermont. — MA

Free People, a women's clothing brand owned by Urban Outfitters, opens today at Bellevue Square on the second floor near JCPenney. The store is its first in Washington state. Free People is taking the place of Victoria's Secret Beauty, now inside a newly remodeled and expanded Victoria's Secret store. — AM

7 For All Mankind plans to open this fall on the mall's first floor near Nordstrom. The premium denim brand is taking space previously occupied by Bebe, which no longer has a store at Bellevue Square. — AM

Taco Del Mar is switching most of its disposable packaging to Trellis Earth products made from biodegradable materials including corn and vegetable starch. The Mexican-food chain will switch to Trellis Earth carryout bags, utensils, plates and other items in the Northwest this month. — MA

Retail Report appears Fridays. Melissa Allison covers the food and beverage industry. She can be reached at 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com. Amy Martinez covers goods, services and online retail. She can be reached at 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com.