Quintessential Chocolates Co., Inc. / Chocolat (Retail Store) — Restaurant in Fredericksburg

Blatant discrimination against service dog handlers.

My wife and I visited on March 15th. I am a disabled person that uses a service animal to mitigate my disability. After waiting in line several minutes, an employee approached and said that even though my service animal is well behaved, she had to leave as they do not allow any animals in the store for any reason because they make food on premise. She then added that we must not have seen the sign in a condescending tone.

I have several problems with this encounter:

Service animals are granted access where the public is granted access, regardless of health code via title 3 of the ADA. This right is further enforced by state law.

There are very rare exceptions where a facility that is both open to the public and manufactures food is able to deny access to service dogs. This is limited to restaurants where access to the kitchen is part of the experience. But as a general rule, if the kitchen is not directly accessible to the public, the areas that are accessible to the public must be equally accessible to disabled people with their service animal. This store had a food prep area behind a counter and WOULD NOT be exempt from requiring access for service animals.

The condescending comment about the sign is ridiculous. I understand that Fredericksburg is generally dog-friendly, so I naturally assumed that the sign meant no pets. That is a reasonable request. It does not specify service animals in any way.

The employee wouldn’t go far enough as to actually ask me to leave. This is a major problem because I’ve been discriminated against, but don’t have any meaningful documentation. Usually, you would be asked to leave, then you refuse until the police arrive to trespass you. The police either inform the owner of the state law (they are not able to enforce federal law), or they formally trespass you and provide an incident report. I could then use that incident report as proof and sue at both the state and federal level for discrimination. It also makes filing a request for criminal charges much simpler.

The person refused to identify herself. I don’t know if she was the owner, a manager, or a rank and file employee.

Without that paper trail, I’m upset, no longer wish to support their business even if they would serve me, and don’t have the necessary support to escalate in a meaningful way to correct their behavior for the next guest with a service animal.

In short, I can’t speak on the chocolate as I was not permitted to sample or purchase anything due to having a service animal. Every other restaurant and store in Fredericksburg was perfect for me and my dog. I’m not sure why this is the one shop that doesn’t know the law.

In the pictures, you can see the sign they referenced and you can see exactly how my service animal was dressed that day. She was plainly marked and even wearing her shoes to prevent tracking in unnecessary dirt...

I don’t have pics because I already ate the chocolates before I thought about it. This store is a unique place to purchase delicious chocolates. When you come inside and look to your left, you can look through a window to watch them as they work. Straight in front is a long glass counter that is full delicious chocolates. The first section are the truffles. As you walk to your right, you then come upon the different types of barks. Continue to follow the glass counter as it curves towards the back wall, you have the liquid filled alcoholic and non-alcoholic chocolates. Those, you’re allowed 1 as a sample. Customer Service: The employees are very friendly and helpful with assisting you with your needs. They did a great job with answering questions about the different truffles (description), prices and sales. - 5 stars Chocolates - so smooth and creamy. They quickly melt in your mouth. My absolute favorite is the Dark Silk Chocolate truffle. - 5 stars Price: Better have deep pockets. The truffles are tiny with a big price. As well as the rest of the chocolates. Though, I can understand the price for the ones with liquid in them. Though prices like these are understandable for a tourist...

Did someone say chocolate??? Well, in Fredericksburg, TX there’s this little gem called Quintessential Chocolates. Love how you get one free sample (the hook…LOL) and if you’re over 21 they have wine and alcohol filled delights. The chocolates are amazing and the liquor ones…INCREDIBLE. I’ve had many alcohol filled chocolates, but none ever tasted like my “free sample” Pecan St Rum. While the outer shell is dark chocolate, you feel like you’re sipping on some pecan rum too. A wonderful combination of flavors that don’t overpower, but magnify each other’s specific character. I was also impressed with owner Lecia Duke’s creation of a Purple Heart confection honoring the military and combat wounded veterans. If you are a Veteran, you get one free and it is a beautiful piece of chocolate artwork. I read an article about her…seems she did an apprenticeship at Lindt…one of my favorite chocolates. Huge shout out to Izabell…she did an excellent job handing out samples and explaining all of the different...