Entrepreneurship NJ: MADE in Atlantic City
This is the second in a series of blogs focused on entrepreneurship in New Jersey. Governor Murphy’s comprehensive plan for building a stronger and fairer economy focuses on making government work better by fostering a dynamic, supportive environment for small businesses. This includes not only the wide array of resources available through the NJEDA that can help small businesses grow, but also a focused effort to make government more accessible to aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators. This series is an effort to build that community while improving the NJEDA’s efforts meet entrepreneurs’ needs. The first installment in the series is available here.
The NJEDA and the State of New Jersey do not endorse or sponsor the companies highlighted in these posts and the NJEDA has not provided financial backing to the companies described in them.
MADE Atlantic City Chocolate: A story of entrepreneurship as a blend of preparation, location, passion, and vision, dipped in chocolate.
If you ask any random person what their favorite treats are, chances are chocolate and cocktails are high on their lists. Chances also are they think of these things separately. But why not put them together? That’s the question Mark and Deb Pellegrino asked themselves when they decided to start MADE Atlantic City Chocolate, a cocktail bar and dessert restaurant focused on chocolate-infused goodies that doubles as a wholesale chocolate bar producer and supplier.
MADE is a staple of Atlantic City’s Orange Loop, and its clever two-in-one business model allows Mark and Deb to stay hard at work during the shore city’s off-season. But other than a good idea (and a lot of chocolate and cocoa), what made MADE successful? And what lessons can other entrepreneurs in the restaurant and food and beverage space learn from its story?
South Jersey Born and Raised
Mark and Deb Pellegrino, the founders of MADE Atlantic City Chocolate, are both products of Atlantic County. Mark attended culinary school and then went on to work as a chef at many iconic Atlantic City destinations, including the Strand Hotel, Trump Castle, and the Ram’s Head Inn in Galloway. Deb traveled the world as a chef on a private yacht before returning to the Atlantic City region. Her path converged with Mark’s while both were working at the Resorts Casino Hotel.
While Mark and Deb both had successful careers in and around the casino industry, something was missing. They felt lucky to have good jobs, but they were seeking more. Eventually, the two chefs wanted to go out on their own. Between them they had built considerable knowledge of the food business, and they both saw Atlantic City as rife with economic opportunity, with younger crowds interested in having more experiences than the casinos alone had to offer.
Although Mark and Deb were confident they had the skills and experience to succeed on their own, they weren’t sure where to start with launching their own business. That’s where Mark Callazzo, the CEO of Alpha Funding Solutions, came in. In addition to running his private lending company, Mark is also an investor and developer of real estate assets, with a portfolio that included properties on South Tennessee Avenue in Atlantic City.
Callazzo had a vision for a new nightlife option in Atlantic City that would draw in people who were interested in entertainment options outside the city’s casinos. His plan was to create an entertainment district called “The Orange Loop” after the three parallel streets in Atlantic City — Tennessee Avenue, St. James Place, and New York Avenue — from which the orange spaces on a Monopoly Board get their names.
When Callazzo met Mark and Deb, he had the properties for The Orange Loop, but he needed the businesses, and people with knowledge of Atlantic City and talents in services such as food and entertainment. When he met Mark and Deb at a trade show, each side found what they were seeking.
“I feel like Mark Callazzo is such a visionary,” says Deb. “He’s passionate about a vision and creating an atmosphere and experience, and we’re passionate about making something to deliver that experience.” In the end, Callazzo provided more than just a vision; he helped Mark and Deb get MADE off the ground with legal assistance and start-up capital.
Yet even with Callazzo’s support, leaving a steady job for the uncertain world of small business ownership was a difficult decision, and Deb in particular was struggling to make up her mind about what to do. Then fate intervened. One day, as Deb was heading down the escalator on her way home after a long work day, a stranger going up the other way locked eyes with her and, as if reading her mind, exclaimed, “Girl, you’ve got the world in your hands! You can do anything you want!” The words hit Deb like a lightning bolt. She turned right around, went to her boss, and handed in her resignation.
MADE Atlantic City Chocolate Bar
Once they were all in, Mark and Deb got to work on the nuts and bolts of starting a business. They began with a name that encapsulates everything about their unique restaurant. MADE is an amalgam of the first two letters of Mark’s and Deb’s names, while the second part of the name “Atlantic City Chocolate Bar” describes both aspects of what the company does: creating chocolate bars and desserts and serving chocolate-infused cocktails.
MADE succeeds because of its diversified, two-businesses-in-one model. There’s the retail and wholesale business for selling chocolate bars, which includes customized chocolate bar wrappers for events such as weddings and showers, and then there’s also the on-premises experience, which includes cacao-infused cocktails, wine and chocolate pairings, and chocolate desserts.
Mark and Deb are involved in every part of the chocolate production process. They have beans shipped to them from Ghana via the Atlantic Cacao company, which has a warehouse in Pennsauken. After receiving the beans, they hand sort the beans then roast them on premises. The beans go on to make cacao extract-infused cocktails, desserts, and chocolate bars.
MADE’s on-site experience is designed to be casual and social, with communal tables as well as open views of the kitchen where chocolate is produced. The space is furnished with cast-offs from old churches, which Mark and Deb use to create fun experiences to go along with their drinks. For example, the bar contains a 100-year-old confessional, and when customers order a drink called the Manhattan Confessional, they also get a confession card to fill out and place on the wall of the confessional.
This diversified model is helping MADE successfully navigate the seasonal ups and downs so many beach town businesses experience. During the spring and summer months, the in-house bar experience is hot. When that business cools a bit during autumn and winter, retail and wholesale picks up for what Deb calls the “chocolate holidays”: New Years, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day.
The Orange Loop
Although MADE succeeds on its own merits, it’s clear from speaking with Mark and Deb that being part of the Orange Loop has been a major boost for business. MADE was one of the first businesses to open on Tennessee Avenue, followed by the Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall. The symbiotic nature of businesses in the area was immediately on display, with foot traffic at MADE picking up almost immediately. Now the businesses work together to share customers and strengthen other small businesses in the area.
Meanwhile, the loop continues to grow. An old colleague of Deb’s from the casinos, Lee Sanchez, recently opened a cocktail and pizza bar right next to MADE called “Rhythm and Spirits,” and Deb and Mark have been working to help Lee however they can.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, Mark and Deb plan to expand the business by bagging their own chocolate-infused teas and creating more truffles and coated candies. They’re also interested in moving some production operations to a bigger facility and, perhaps, using the production space on Tennessee Avenue to enable people to engage in the chocolate manufacturing process.
As they grow, Mark and Deb are also seeking new channels for spreading the word about MADE to a larger audience. MADE has so far received coverage from the Philadelphia Inquirer and New York Times and secured a shout-out in Rachel Ray’s magazine, but building a larger profile is still a top priority.
This is an area where Mark and Deb believe the State can help, especially if that support comes in the form of targeted assistance with specific projects. For instance, MADE’s Business Improvement Incentive grant from the NJEDA, which paid for new signage, was a major help. Mark and Deb believe more opportunities like that would be a major boost for small businesses.
Deb and Mark are confident in MADE’s long-term prospects and are thrilled doing their own thing. MADE is clearly a labor of love, and Mark and Deb’s passion for bringing together great people and great chocolate is the real key to their success. (The booze helps, too!)
