We Know Our Sources: Malley’s Chocolates
The following story was written by Heinen’s partner Elaine T. Cicora.
When two of Ohio’s most venerable family-owned and -operated enterprises decide to team up, you can bet the results will be sweet.
That’s certainly been the case since this past March, when 96-year-old Heinen’s partnered with 90-year-old Malley’s Chocolates to bring a select assortment of fine confections to Heinen’s shoppers.
According to Mike Malley, Chief Strategic Officer and third-generation owner/operator, the pairing makes perfect sense. “Both Heinen’s and Malley’s have made a mark on Clevelanders,” he says, “and neither of us take that lightly. As family businesses, we’re both protective of our names and deeply committed to maintaining our reputations for quality and customer service. I think those shared values are the foundation for a strong, enduring partnership.”
What’s New on Shelves?
As a result, customers now will find an everyday collection of 13 “tried and true” treats from Malley’s on the shelves of every Cleveland Heinen’s as well as a specially curated collection of chocolates at Heinen’s Illinois locations. The options include favorites like Bordeaux, the quarter-pound Gold Cup Collection, Malley Ohs!, chocolate-covered pretzels, and sea salt caramels.
Not to mention the chocolate bars. “We wanted to really lean into our best sellers,” says Mike, “and that includes our Pretzel Crunch, Milk Chocolate Crunch Almond, and Milk Chocolate bars, among others.”
In addition to the beloved standards, shoppers will also find a rotating selection of holiday and seasonal offerings.
Malley’s Cleveland History
Mike traces all this goodness back to his grandparents, Albert “Mike” and Josephine Malley, who launched the business in Lakewood in 1935—at the height of the Great Depression.
“As the story goes,” Mike says, “my grandfather started out as an insurance salesman in Pennsylvania, but he wasn’t having much success. So, he switched to selling syrups to soda fountains, and Cleveland was part of his territory. On one of his trips here, he came across an empty Lakewood storefront on the corner of Lewis Drive and Madison Avenue; it also had living quarters upstairs. He decided this was the place to go into business for himself.”
After moving his family here, Mr. Malley’s first foray into the food business was running a soda fountain/delicatessen, while “tinkering” with confections in the basement. “Eventually, one of his customers told him, ‘Mike, you make a better milk-chocolate caramel than you do a Reuben,’ and my grandfather decided to go all-in on the candy business. And that’s how it got started!”
It didn’t take long before Malley’s had made an impression on the local community. “One of my grandfather’s proudest moments was when his chocolate supplier told him he didn’t need to come downtown on the trolley anymore to pick up his chocolate: The supplier would deliver to him. ‘Your credit’s good with us,’ he told him, and it was a real milestone for the business.”
Continued growth followed and, in 1949, Mr. Malley moved his confectionary to more spacious digs on the corner of Madison and Victoria, where he installed his first commercial kitchen. “My father, Bill, says the opening was like a Hollywood premiere, with people lined up and the police directing traffic. It was quite the big to-do.”
In 1967, Bill became president of Malley’s Chocolates; under his leadership, the kitchen and factory facilities had to be moved two more times to accommodate the growing demand. Meantime, Bill’s wife, Adele, founded the Malley’s School of Merchandising, aimed at helping other confectioners grow their businesses. “My mom had a real knack for merchandizing, packaging, and customer service,” says Mike, “and she brought all that into the business. In fact, she remains very involved even to this day, never shying away from offering tips and pointers on retailing.”
Eventually, leadership passed to the third generation where at one point all six of Bill and Adele’s children were in the business. The company recently appointed a new president, Megan Gillum. Mike said, “she is the first non-family member given the responsibility for the day-to-day operations of Malley’s 18 Northeast Ohio stores and the modern, 60,000-square-foot headquarters and factory on Brookpark Road.
Looking Forward
As to whether there will be more Malley’s locations in the future, Mike is cautious. “Never say never, right? But the opportunities to find additional locations that meet our precise specifications are getting few and far between.”
“That’s one of the things that makes this high-end collaboration with Heinen’s so exciting for us: It makes Malley’s Chocolates available in some of the suburbs we haven’t yet reached, and it serves as a wonderful opportunity to spread the awareness of our brand.”
Today, that brand includes approximately 350 products (including non-chocolate items, like gummy bears, which the company sells but doesn’t manufacture). The company also employs the equivalent of 190 full-time workers.
Still, some things don’t change. “We’re still making candy on my grandfather’s original enrobing line,” Mike notes, although three more enrobers have been added to handle demand. “And we still have all my grandfather’s original recipes, although there have been some tweaks over the decades.”
Malley’s has also introduced several new flavor profiles over the years, to keep up with current trends. “For instance, hot and spicy flavors are becoming popular, so we’re working on a jalapeno-infused dark chocolate, with a little heat and a nice, sweet finish,” Mike says. “That’s not exactly something my grandfather would have come up with, but I think he would approve.”
Quality at the Core
Meantime, quality standards have remained exacting. Malley’s sources its cacao beans from West Africa’s Cote d’Ivoire and eschews the use of additives whenever possible. “The blend we use is our own premium recipe, known as ‘crumb;’ it’s what gives our chocolate that distinctive caramelly kind of toasty finish and very smooth texture,” Mike explains.
In terms of general sustainability, the factory is lit with high-efficiency light bulbs, and efforts are underway to explore a water recirculation system to capture and reuse cooling water.
Mike is also working on a project to reuse paper products. “We go through a tremendous number of corrugated boxes here,” he notes, “so we’re studying ways to move beyond mere recycling into actually reusing a lot of what are now single-use cartons.”
Overall, he adds, “we’re trying to identify opportunities throughout the enterprise where we can use more high-efficiency equipment or processes, so that we can lessen our energy footprint.”
Nonetheless, he says, it’s his grandfather’s 90-year-old legacy that continues to light the way.
“Just think about,” Mike says. “Here’s a guy who had enough entrepreneurial zeal and self-confidence to launch a business in the middle of the Great Depression. I mean, who in their right mind does that? But he made it work. And that has been a great lesson for us, as third-generation chocolatiers, in terms of the power of vision and determination.
“Ninety years later, I think my grandparents would be astounded to see what’s grown out of one man making chocolates in his basement, with his wife running the store upstairs. Eighteen shops, a modern factory and a thriving retail organization: Yep, I think they’d feel we’re doing pretty good.”
