The enduring power of See’s Candies in Oakland

Oakland’s Rockridge district is synonymous with great food, from breakfast sandwiches and kouign-amann to the finest gourmet pasta. Lately, it’s also becoming a destination for chocolate. The 1-mile stretch of College Avenue from Broadway to Ashby is peppered with no fewer than five confectioneries. 

Plunked in the center sits an old-school See’s Candies shop. And on a recent weekday afternoon, it appeared busier than three of the other shops combined. Signature white boxes of Nuts & Chews and Chocolate Lollipops were stacked to the ceiling. Regulars coming off BART popped in for their favorites — Milk California Brittle and Dark Marzipan are bestsellers at 5802 College Ave. — while a friendly manager doled out free samples.

When it opened in 2014, See’s was one of three chocolate shops on the block. It joined Bittersweet Cafe, now The Chocolate Dragon Bittersweet Cafe, and Casa de Chocolates, a tiny spot specializing in Latin American-inspired treats made on site (just around the corner from College Avenue, in Berkeley). This past September, two more shops took root: Xocolate & Confections, a few doors down from See’s, and Belgian specialist Love + Chocolate, farther down the block. Can this already saturated neighborhood — we haven’t even mentioned all the bakeries in Rockridge — handle this much sweet?

Pat Egan, president and CEO of South San Francisco-based See’s Candies, says an absolute yes.

“More chocolate shops popping up in the area just confirms what we already know — people love their chocolate,” Egan told SFGATE via email. “We’ve been happy to welcome our new neighbors as we feel confident that See’s brings something unique to the table. Being a 102-year-old company, See’s is built on tradition and can lean on a century of success.”

Surprisingly, not even a pandemic altered that success. According to Egan, See’s did not permanently close a single store during the early years of COVID-19; if anything, the chain has flourished, welcoming three new California shops in 2023 alone. In March 2020, the mandatory lockdown was only the second time in the company’s 102-year history that See’s shut its doors. The first time was during World War II, when raw ingredients such as butter, sugar and cream were rationed. In 1942, the short supply of these essential building blocks meant the company produced less candy. When a shop ran out after a few hours, it closed for the day. 

When COVID hit, See’s had the opposite problem. With retail locations closed and hundreds of thousands of pounds of Easter candies on its hands, the company made massive donations to hospitals, frontline workers, food banks and others who needed a sweet pick-me-up, Egan said. He estimates that at least 1 million people received a See’s treat as a result of those donations.

At the time, being able to spread the See’s love at a distance was great, but Egan attributes the company’s longevity to its in-shop experience, which he calls “unmatched.”

“We really connect with our customers, and I don’t think any other retail candy shop of our size can make that statement,” he said.

See’s may stand out, but mostly in how traditional it is. The other chocolate shops on the block offer a modern and international vibe. In contrast to the See’s wall-to-wall white, at Xocolat & Confections, jewel-toned vintage candy dishes line the shelves and bowls overflow with gold-wrapped and ethically sourced Tanzanian dark chocolate. Xocolat is famous for its bonbons and bars, which are made at the original shop on Solano Avenue, Berkeley. Owner Malena Lopez-Maggi came to Rockridge for the foot traffic and because it feels like a second home, she said, with numerous Solano Avenue businesses having second locations in Rockridge. The new shop is also twice as big, and allows her to expand into other confections, like Italian candies.  

While she’s a little concerned about the competition on what she officially calls “the sweet street,” she’s confident that all the chocolate shops are so different, there are plenty of chocoholics to go around. “We should be on a tourist map, like an Oakland chocolate trail,” Lopez-Maggi told SFGATE. 

And it’s true that each shop has a different highlight, worthy of a stop. Chocolate Dragon makes killer hot cocoa. Love + Chocolate is an importer of Leonidas, a traditional Belgian chocolate that dates back to 1913. And Casa de Chocolates specializes in chocolate infused with mezcal, mole and chile.

Lisa Dale, over at Chocolate Dragon, agrees. Dale took over the business in 2015, but has worked there since 2005 and seen the neighborhood evolve. In addition to half a dozen types of hot cocoa, Dale offers fresh baked goods and carries 30 brands of chocolate — including Xocolate. She was thrilled to welcome Lopez-Maggi to the block and wants to host an event featuring her chocolates. 

“We’re in a major shopping district here, so the more we get filled out with places and the more people who come for chocolate the better,” Dale said. 

Kristy Lincoln had no idea there were several chocolate shops nearby when she and her husband Kent signed the lease for Love + Chocolate at 6309 College Ave. They simply fell in love with the spot: the brick building and blue-trimmed awning; having a florist and restaurants as neighbors, just like the chocolate shops in Paris. Inside, gold-framed mirrors line the walls and that cobalt blue carries over to the bold open counter, which is covered with dozens of truffles, much like the layout at See’s.

“I wanted people to feel like they’re walking into a European chocolate shop,” she said. “People come in and almost drool over the counter.”