While Susan Davis was studying at Eastern Washington University in 2005 to prepare to enter a pharmacy program, she dreamed of a chocolate dispensary that would help her and her classmates survive their long study sessions.

The more she thought about it, the more Davis thought a "chocolate apothecary" could be just the thing to cure Spokane of a lack of cocoa-based medicinal concoctions. Tongue firmly in cheek, she cooked up a plan to launch Chocolate Apothecary LLC later that year and did so with her husband, Brad.

Part retail store, part chocolate lovers' dream, Chocolate Apothecary is nestled in a corner of the Flour Mill near downtown Spokane. Davis says the store has been well-received in its first few years in business, and now has four employees, including herself.

"It has much more than met our expectations," she says.

As she envisioned, Chocolate Apothecary makes people feel so comfortable they often settle in with a cup of hot chocolate and a book, and even put their feet up by the artificial fireplace, Davis says.

"People find a fun refuge here to be with chocolate—you can be saturated with it," Davis says.

She continues to play with the chocolate-as-medicine theme embodied in the store's name.

"At first it was more tongue-in-cheek, but as I've gone on, I've realized it's true," Davis says. More than receiving any documented medical benefits, she believes that her customers feel more of an emotional response from the chocolate they crave and consume.

"Chocolate is wound with a lot of people's lives," she says.

Unlike many chocolate shops, Chocolate Apothecary doesn't make chocolates. Rather, it sells a combination of national or international brands of chocolates, as well as select chocolate confections made locally.

Equipped with an espresso and "drinkable chocolate" bar, Chocolate Apothecary also sells pastries and gelato. In the summer, iced chocolate drinks and gelato are popular items at the drink bar, while in the winter, gift items and hot chocolate sell well, Davis says. The most popular drinking chocolate is a spicy Mayan chocolate, she says.

Some of the chocolates the shop carries are familiar, while others contain more exotic ingredients, such as herbs, spices, curry, and even a carbonated candy called "Pop Rocks."

The rocks give off bubbles as they're chewed.

Chocolate Apothecary also frequently stocks bacon-flavored chocolate bars, which Davis says are popular.

Overall, about two-thirds of the store's business comprises packaged retail items, while about a third comes from drinks and chocolate treats bought and eaten in the store.

Chocolate Apothecary also holds chocolate tasting classes on a routine basis, and hosts groups that range from business parties and bridal showers to meetings of book clubs and investment clubs.

Some companies even have held employee reviews at the store, Davis says.

"Everything is softer with chocolate," she says.

Branching out

Davis continues to enjoy combining a little bit of medicinal lore with a lot of fun in the shop. She says her husband handles the financial side of the business, while she works more with the hands-on product selection and testing.

"My husband is the MBA. I'm in charge of research and development, and quality assurance," she quips.

Drawing on their combined talents, Davis and her husband also have launched a franchise company, Chocolate Apothecary Franchising LLC, which they hope will lead to franchise operations in the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene areas, as well as around the country. The franchise opportunity they offer, like Chocolate Apothecary, relies on the appeal of the chocolate-as-medicine idea, with Davis' assistance and approval in selecting the chocolates they will sell, including local brands.

"We figured if it worked here, it could work well elsewhere, too," she says.

They've been working for between two and three years to become a franchisor, a much more costly venture than starting the store itself, Davis says. The company currently has one franchisee, in Texas, and the Davises plan to focus this year on expanding their franchising, after being conservative last year due to the down economy, she says.

She says she thinks franchising can be great for people who like a concept and want to run a business, but also want the strength of someone else's success and bargaining power behind them. Also, Davis says she can get better prices on chocolate by buying for more than one shop.

Along with franchising in other states, Davis hopes to find a couple of franchisees in Spokane and North Idaho, and has some ideas of spaces and places where those additional stores might be located. She says having local franchisees would give her a chance to hone the franchise model as the company works to grow a franchise network.

When Davis decided to start the shop, she traveled down the West Coast, visiting every chocolate shop she could find. Though she tasted some wonderful chocolate, Davis didn't find any business model like what she hoped to create—a place where people could not only buy chocolate, but sit down and enjoy it in an atmosphere that emphasizes the lift chocolate gives to those who love it.

"I looked for a location that would fit the genre," she says, and settled on the Flour Mill. Starting the store was not too expensive, as her husband built the cabinetry.

"We did it on a shoestring," taking out one small loan, she says.

She says she's learned about business, chocolate, and the business of chocolate as she's gone along.

"At the time, I had no idea what I was doing," she says.

The chocolate world is fairly small, Davis says. She says she never knew she wasn't supposed to call chocolatiers directly to obtain supply, so in many cases she negotiated her own prices outside of normal distribution channels.