Local business earns sweet reward – America’s Best Chocolate Shop is in Greenville!
June 19, 2025
LaRue Fine Chocolate Honored by USA Today
LaRue Fine Chocolate is the winner of “Best Chocolate Shop In America” by USA Today.
“It feels a little surreal,” said founder Elizabeth Logan McDaniel. “This is a culmination of my team’s hard work.”
McDaniel started LaRue Fine Chocolate in 2015, after a decade-long career in the wine and spirits industry. For five years, she sold her chocolate truffle creations at the TD Saturday Market on Main Street.
“I’ll think about what I want a chocolate to taste like for a few months before I actually try to make it, McDaniel said. “I’m thinking about how it tastes, what it smells like, and how it kind of unfolds and tells you a story.”
In Spring of 2020, LaRue Fine Chocolate opened its first brick-and-mortar location at 556 Perry Avenue. The shop features award-winning cocktails, small plates, coffee and non-alcoholic options, desserts, and a wine and beer selection. McDaniel opened a second location at The Commons at Unity Park in July 2024 with soft-serve ice cream, small-batch scoop ice creams, cookies, cupcakes, ice cream sandwiches and slushies.
McDaniel, who keeps a notepad by her bedside to remember her sweet dreams about chocolate recipes said, “We want to concentrate on being the best version of ourselves so that when people come in and want to see what the best chocolate shop in America looks like, that they’re thrilled, and we exceed their expectations.” LaRue has previously placed in the top ten best chocolate shops. This is her first number-one win.
