CBIA BizCast: Fascia’s Chocolates’ Sweet Legacy

As president of Fascia’s Chocolates, Carmen Romeo has a sweet job.

“I still have a vision that until everybody has had a piece of Fascia’s Chocolates, then my job’s not done,” Romeo told the CBIA BizCast. 

But Romeo wasn’t always in the chocolate business. 

“I am an engineer by training,” he said. 

Romeo spent the first part of his career working for different manufacturing companies in different parts of the country.

Family Business

In 1995, he met his wife Louise, the daughter of John and Helen Fascia, the founders of Fascia’s Chocolates.

“When you marry into the family, you learn quickly about the business,” Romeo said.

Fascia’s has been part of the Waterbury community for 60 years, ever since John Fascia started the business in his basement when Helen was pregnant with Louise. 

“He just wanted to make a little extra money,” Romeo said. 

“He would go to New York and buy nuts—literally, big bags of nuts—and re-bag them and sell them to his coworkers.

“And somebody finally said, ‘You should put chocolate with those.’”

Growth and Change

Fourteen years later, the business outgrew the basement and moved into its first retail store, even though John Fascia was still working full-time as an electronic technician.

“When they finally went all in in 1985 it was a risk, but they had enough of a following that they were able to stay and grow,” Romeo said.

Things changed in 2008, when the Fascias were notified that their building was sold and their lease was ending.

“I convinced my wife that we should be in the chocolate business.”

Romeo

“They’re forced to move without a retirement plan,” Romeo said. “And that was really when it was a little bit of crisis mode.”

He added that at the same time, the company he was working for was moving back to the Midwest and he didn’t want to move with it. 

“So I convinced my wife that we should be in the chocolate business,” he said. “I had a love and passion for the business already.”

Rebuilding Process

Romeo said it wasn’t always easy, and he went without a salary for several months, but they were able to slowly rebuild. 

That rebuilding process began with the product itself, still made the old fashioned way. 

“The product is as pure as it’s ever been, and as long as I’m around, we’ll stay that way,” he said.

“We were really the best kept secret in Waterbury.”

Romeo

Romeo’s main goal early on was getting the company more well known.

“We were really the best kept secret in Waterbury,” he said.

Romeo said they began doing events, like chocolate lessons teaching people about making truffles or pairing classes. 

“We then focused on, not only making and selling chocolate, but what we call experiencing your chocolate,” Romeo said.

Future Growth

He said that helped them buy the building they are in today, setting themselves up for future growth.

“Twelve years into the building, we have had over 60,000 people listen to me talk about chocolate,” he said.

Romeo said the company has evolved to focus on retail, tourism, and an expanding wholesale market.

“That’s been a big part of our growth is refocusing on wholesale,” he said.

You can now find the company’s chocolates in 135 locations—and counting—including grocery stores like Big Y to independent grocers and high end gift shops. 

The company also offers custom orders for businesses, including using company logos to create molded chocolates for branded boxes.

“It comes down to the product itself,” Romeo said. “If I can get it into people’s mouths, it usually does the job.”

Lasting Legacy

Romeo said that it’s not always easy to do business in Connecticut, but he’s motivated to keep it going as a testament to his in-laws and the legacy they created. 

“I want to be able to live on the business,” he said. “I want to be able to say it was successful.

“But the legacy from my in laws—it’s the family name, and I don’t ever forget that. It’s the family name.”

“It’s the family name, and I don’t ever forget that.”

Romeo

And Romeo said he hopes that legacy will continue with the next generation. 

His son has joined the family business as wholesale manager.

In the end, Romeo said the goal is to keep creating tasty memories for their customers. 

“When a mother comes in with her daughter and says, ‘I had Fascia’s at my wedding as a favor, now my daughter is going to have it as a favor,’ there’s nothing more gratifying than that,” he said. 

“That’s the legacy that we want to continue.”

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