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Sweetest place in the neighborhood

There is something very sweet about this tiny gulfside village, and it is not just its small town ambience.

Two months ago, entrepreneur Amanda Sklar opened a small shop called Chocolate Studios. It is a place where anyone of any age and talent can design, decorate or devour delectable treats.

At this shop, chocolate takes on a new form. There are chocolate dentures, rubber duckies, pigs, big-mouthed mothers-in-law, buxom blondes and pizzas.

The Florida pizza is adorned with hand-painted palm trees, sea horses, shells and blue crabs. The Super Bowl pizza is festooned with chocolate footballs.

"We can make just about anything anyone wants," said Sklar, 24. "If they want it decorated, they can do it themselves or we will do it for them." She recommends an appointment for those who want to make their own creations.

There is case full of handmade candies offering enough variety to satisfy the choosiest of chocoholics. Among them are marshmallow clusters, raspberry truffles, peanut butter cups, and "turbles," which are chocolate-covered pecans and caramel, not to be mistaken for a similar confection with a trademarked name.

"This place is so unique; it's not like going to the mall," said Al Schmoyer, 54, who is known around Ozona as the "Dock Doctor." The toffee butter crunch, he said,"tastes just like my mother-in-law used to make."

Peg Mahara, 52, of Ozona, rode to the studio in her golf cart to get her fix of dark chocolate with almonds.

She likes to think of chocolate as the new health food.

"Dark chocolate and almonds are good for you," she said. "Chocolate is rich in flavonoids and antioxidants. It is almost as healthy for you as eating grapes."

Sklar recalled one woman who tasted a truffle, lay down on the floor, and lifted her legs straight up in the air.

"She said it was the best sex she ever had," Sklar said.

For those who worry about weight, the studio offers, in jest, a diet pill made from a half-pound of chocolate.

"We took all the calories out with tweezers," Sklar said.

She offers a variety of sugar-free chocolates and says there are no oils or salts in the nuts.

"We roast them ourselves," added her mother, Amelia Sklar, who occasionally helps at the shop. She has owned several chocolate shops in the past including the former Aiello's at the Tampa International Airport.

When new customers enter the shop, they are handed a chocolate-covered treat called "guess what." As they munch away, normally a look of bewilderment spreads across their face as they try to guess the secret ingredient. Only three of 10 get it right, said Sklar.

The chocolatier, a resident of Ozona, runs her business by night. During the day, she works at the Caring and Sharing Center for Independent Living in Holiday as a program associate assisting those with disabilities.

And she usually takes one or two online classes in social work through St. Petersburg College.

Still, she finds time to teach neighborhood schoolchildren who stop by after school how to use molds, decorate chocolate, make their own milkshakes, or tie a curly ribbon on a gift bag.

Brittney Carvalho, 11, recently made some chocolate bananas, pears and pineapples.

"I make things for my grandparents," she said. "I come here when I'm bored and want something to do."

Susan White of Ozona brought her two daughters Heather, 10, and Morgan, 12, to the shop for ice cream after they won a basketball game at the YMCA. The girls often ride their bikes to the studio after school.

"Imagine having your own chocolate factory in the neighborhood," Mrs. White said. "This is a safe haven for them. They can come to have fun and get a special treat."

Chocolate Studios is at 404 N Orange St., Ozona. Appointments are preferred for design and decorating. Parties are welcome with advance notice. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. Call (727) 786-9663.