For 37 years Choco Oh Lot has remained an indestructible pillar of its community, immovable against changing demographics. Except that it hasn’t. After 37 years, you begin to understand that no business is indestructible, no shop an immovable force. Choco Oh Lot is a lot like one of the hundreds of plastic chocolate molding trays it sells. It adapts with what it is given, taking the form of what the community sees fit. When Charles Arnone, the sole owner and employee of Choco Oh Lot, noticed that his community was changing, his business changed with it. The mainly Scandinavian community was gone, replaced by immigrants from various nations in the Middle East. His chocolate molding trays began to make less Easter decorations and more Middle Eastern cuisine. Chocolates began to take the shape of crescents and stars, sweets to be eaten during Eid and Ramadan. And so more trays began to be added, to reflect the communities many ethnicities and faith. Trays of Menorahs and Crosses, sold side by side, began to fill the neighborhood of no particular faith. As the 37th year passes, Charles begins to understand that his adaption is what is key. His trays have to adapt or else his customers will. Because Choco Oh Lot isn’t an indestructible pillar of its community, immovable against changing demographics.

– Saifeldeen Zihiri

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