Alaska Chocolate: Anchorage Chocolatiers & Chocolate Retailers

When you're visiting Alaska, chocolate doesn't usually come to mind. Most people visit for the jaw-dropping views and nature-oriented activities, like hiking Root Glacier. The state's chocolate culture is unsurprisingly underdeveloped.

Yet I still managed to find a very large selection of both American & imported craft chocolate bars, a sign that fine chocolate culture has made it into the minds of some modern Alaskans. The selection of fine chocolate isn't huge in Alaska, but it's on the rise, and I was lucky enough to have a local chocolate lover around to show me the ropes. 

Below we dive into chocolatiers and chocolate retail shops, wherein one of each definitely stood out as the winner. But each of the chocolatiers and shops offers something that none of the others do, making each one an instrumental part of the landscape.

Note also that Chugach Chocolate is another chocolatier based in Anchorage, but they don't currently have a retail shop. Additionally, all of their products are made with alkali-processed-based materials, so I don't feel too confident about recommending them. 

On top of that unfortunate realization, I was sad to see the well-known Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge close down to focus on other projects, shortly before publication of this article. Alaskan craft chocolate still doesn't have a dedicated home, but it certainly has some dedicated fans.

Alaskan Chocolatiers & Chocolate Maker

Wildland Chocolate

Very new to the scene of craft chocolate, as far as I can tell Wildland is the only chocolate maker in all of Alaska, much less all of Anchorage. The company started selling in 2019, and is currently only available through special order online and at local farmers' markets. Some of the cacao brands they're currently working with include Ucayali River and Kokoa Kamili.

Sweet Chalet

Sweet Chalet left quite a positive impression on me. A large portion of the beautiful chocolates I try fall flat on quality and complexity, but Sweet Chalet managed to shine on both. Maybe it was a decade the chocolatier spent working in a Beverly Hills hotel, or the last four years she's owned the shop, but somewhere along the line she managed to perfect her skills. Using Swiss chocolate, fresh ingredients, and some high-level painting skills, Sweet Chalet's chief chocolatier crafts a variety of confections.

The shop's most famous confections are the aurora borealis-inspired line of hand-painted bonbons. Their outlet in Anchorage's famous Captain Cook Hotel is actually the bigger version of their store, and in it they have an astounding collection of gift-ready chocolate gifts beyond their selection of dozens of bonbons. It's unsurprising when you consider that they're in the basement of one of the most famous hotels in Alaska, in the state's largest city, and at first glance your eye will be overwhelmed.

But don't be deterred by the abundance of choice. Look to your left and go for some of the truffles, either in the colorful aurora collection or the square dipped ganaches. There's a great reason they were declared the best chocolate in Alaska by Business Insider in 2016.

Address: 300 E Dimond Blvd STE 202, Anchorage, AK 99515, USA (2 locations; see map below)

Hours & Prices: 10am-6pm, Mon.-Sat. {closes 4pm Saturdays} ($2-3 per truffle)

Alaska Wild Berry

Wild Berry is very kitchy and clearly big-batch chocolates. Their shops give off a sort of old timey vibe, reminiscent of small town American candy shops that also happen to sell chocolates. They carry an unbelievable volume of local products of various types, but most of their chocolates can be found in the display case at the front of the store, and are sold by weight based on filling.

When you think of Alaska chocolate, if you think of it at all, you probably think of Wild Berry, though I'd personally like to change that instinct. Their raspberry jelly was my favorite, but everything I bought tasted quite industrial and flat, lacking the cocoa flavor & depth of a quality chocolate. These are the pre-packaged chocolates you buy for co-workers right before your flight, because you forgot to get them a souvenir.

However, in the same mall as the downtown location, there's also a bakery called Cake Studio that makes decent $2.25 filled truffles and a decent latte. The passion fruit is a cheese cake-like rendition of the classic French flavor, while the two dozen coffee-based drinks are all made using locally-roasted coffee beans, and will warm you up for any Alaska weather. Be sure to give them some love, if you're in the area.

Address: 5225 Juneau St, Anchorage, AK 99518, USA (2 locations; see map below)

Hours & Prices: 10am-9pm, daily {hours vary hugely outside summertime; see here for hours} ($1 per truffle)

Alaskan Chocolate Retailers

La Bodega

Even though Anchorage's Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge is closing their location after 11 years, right next door is La Bodega, a liquor store which also sells a small selection of artisanal foods. Luckily for us, this includes a surprisingly large selection of several makers' craft chocolate bars.

When I went I managed to leave with several bars from cloudforest and from Cultura, both American companies with some innovative chocolate flavors. They worked for years to convince some makers to let them carry their bars, so I don't expect them to stop carrying fine chocolate anytime soon.

Note that even if you're only buying chocolate bars, La Bodega requires by law that you are at least 21 before you purchase anything from their shop.

Address: 530 E Benson Blvd #5, Anchorage, AK 99503, USA (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 10am-9pm, Mon.-Sat. {12pm-7pm, Sun.} ($3-10 per bar)

Natural Pantry

Described to me as fill-in for Whole Foods, Natural Pantry was more or less as advertised, except that the chocolate selection was even larger than that of Amazon's recent acquisition. I felt like a kid looking up at a wall of candy, because their shelves were full of bars and reached up high into the air. Just the chocolate section took up its own aisle to the right of the cash registers, near the front of the store. They carry the typical Whole Foods brands of Theo, Salazon, Newman's Own, etc., but they also brought some new makers to my attention.

If you can only make one stop for chocolate in Alaska and you want a wide range of ethical bars for munching on, Natural Pantry should be that stop. You're not going to find any small-batch fine chocolate makers here, but you can grab some great dark milk bars and even some bars from Alaskan chocolatiers like Chugach.

Address: 3680 Barrow St, Anchorage, AK 99503, USA (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 9am-9pm, Mon.-Sat. ($3-7 per bar)

New Sagaya Midtown

New Sagaya's selection is similar to a typical Whole Foods or health food store, but without the local selection (since there isn't much of one). They maintain a nice blend of higher quality high-distribution bars like Theo & TCHO & Alter Eco, as well as some European candy bars and lower quality brands like Endangered Species and Chocolove. Their chocolate selection isn't particularly unique, but it is quite large for Anchorage and worth checking out for the imports. Otherwise it's just your typical higher end grocery store with an Asian emphasis and a growing chocolate selection.

Address: 3700 Old Seward Hwy, Anchorage, AK 99503, USA (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 6am-10pm, Mon.-Sat. {8am-9pm, Sun.} ($3-6 per bar)

Summit Spice & Tea Co.

This is the spot for craft chocolate in Alaska. Insofar as selection, there are a few dozen makers represented here, and not just from the US, but from Switzerland, Hungary, Vietnam, and even further afield. The shop specializes in tea and spices, as the name suggests, but the first thing you see when walking in is the craft chocolate nook. I was thoroughly surprised at how many choices they provide, and my local friend emphasized that the selection is changing and growing every week.

One day you may go in and buy a bar you fall in love with, only to be unable to find it the next time you wander in.

So for Anchorage chocolate heads, this is your haunt. They even have caramels and sauces from chocolate makers and chocolatiers from around the world, making it easy to put together a great chocolate gift basket or hostess gift. For those unsure about spending so much money on one bar, be sure to peruse their sale rack next to the cash register, where all items from their store will move once they near their best-by date (remember that dark chocolate basically never expires!).

Address: Denali Building, 3030 Denali St #2, Anchorage, AK 99503, USA (see map below)

Hours & Prices: 10am-7pm, Mon.-Sat. {11am-6pm, Sun.} ($3-16 per bar)

Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop

Okay, okay, so this isn't actually a chocolate shop, but it is one of the best bakeries I've ever been to. When our hosts insisted we visit her friend's bakery, "just a couple of miles away," we relented at the promise of warm scones and chocolate chop cookies. Boy, am I glad we did. These cookies were perfectly soft and moist with gooey chocolate chips that weren't cloyingly sweet or gritty & bitter.

If you're lucky enough to visit one of the three locations of this bakery, two of which have opened just on the last year, then I insist you try both a chocolate chip cookie and some kind of bread. There's a reason their head chef was a semi-finalist for an "Outstanding Baker" James Beard award (which we had no idea of before visiting Alaska), and it's not for his much-lauded skills on the guitar.

Address: 1343 G St, Anchorage, AK 99501 (3 locations; see map below)

Hours & Prices: 7am-6pm, Wed.-Sun. ($2-3 per cookie)

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