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“It is with great sadness that we have closed the business,” Francoise Walusis, founder of Madame Delluc, told this news outlet Monday. “While the Oakwood location was successful, customer volumes in Chicago and Columbus were not sufficient to allow us to continue operation. Unfortunately, due to the financial commitments in Chicago and Columbus, it forced the closure of Oakwood as well.”
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Madame Delluc was the exclusive retail seller in the U.S. of the chocolates from the prestigious Belgian chocolate maker name Mary, which was launched in 1919. Walusis herself is a native of Belgium who came to Ohio more than two decades ago to attend Wittenberg University.
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"We have discontinued online sales and do not currently have plans to open any alternate locations or sales channels," the Madame Delluc founder said. "If customers still wish to purchase products, they can do so through Mary in Belgium at www.mary.be."
RELATED: Oakwood chocolate shop scores national shout-out
The chocolates sold by Madame Delluc received several shout-outs in the national media in the last four years. A year ago, in December 2018, it was included in a Forbes.com Mother's Day Gift Guide on "The Best Dark Chocolates" after a writer for that publication stopped in at Madame Delluc's Chicago store. In 2017, CNN named Mary as one of the "15 Happiest Places in the World." And in 2016, A Mary chocolate bar was lauded as one of the nine "Best Chocolates in the World" by a Conde Nast Traveler writer.
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“We could not be more grateful for the support of the Dayton community,” Walusis said. “It was an honor to be able to bring Mary's wonderful products to the Dayton market.”
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