Ë®¹ûÅÉAV

Less than a year after the business opened on East Genesee Street in Auburn, the cafe is making plans for an expansion at 4 E. Main St., Marcellus, next to the village tavern. 

Although there's no exact date hashed out yet, the business hopes to have operations up and running at its second site by this fall, Kendra Pearson told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV Monday.

Pearson, the cafe's operations manager, said interior work is being done to the two-story building in Marcellus, where the business plans on expanding its menu. She said the building's second floor would be used for chocolate production while the lower floor would host a retail area and a kitchen for baked goods. Currently, Gretchen's Confections sells coffee drinks like lattes, cappuccinos and espressos, an assortment of hand-crafted chocolates and baked goods like scones and muffins.

Pearson said that with the Marcellus spot, the cafe's crew wouldn't have to work in cramped kitchen areas. The expansion would also let the business increase its chocolatier staff and bring in new machinery to make different types of chocolate. A second location would also make it easier to manage high retail and wholesale demands, she added.

Although she said Gretchen Confection's Auburn location is the business' "flagship store," Pearson said an expansion was necessary. 

"Auburn has been very welcoming, we just needed to expand for our production."