Our Story
Everything you wanted to know about Pizzelle's but were afraid to ask!
Our History
After we moved to Huntsville 1986, we embarked on different career paths before eventually launching a business together. It was Michelle’s childhood dream to have a candy store just like in the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We developed a love for fine art at a young age and have been involved in the local arts community for many years before the birth of Pizzelle’s. Once we defined Pizzelle's vision as creating edible art and added touches of pop culture - and our own brand of quirkiness - the culture and tone of the shop came together, and we’ve been going strong for over 13 years.
Many people played a role in our journey with Pizzelle’s, but of course it wouldn’t exist without our mom - and neither would one of our most popular items, the Mommy Dearest candy bar, which was her idea.
The name Pizzelle’s was inspired by one of our first food memories. Our grandparents always had a steady supply of the anise-flavored Italian waffle cookies in the house when we were little, but pizzelles were nowhere to be found when we moved to Huntsville. When talking about names, Pizzelle’s always ended up on the list, and it finally just stuck!
Our very first items were sold in 2012 at The Switch House, which was located at The Lumberyard in Huntsville, and then we opened on March 16, 2013, with just 800 square feet and only 4 tables for customers. We now sell over 100,000 chocolates per year!
Our Artistry
Just like a potter uses clay, chocolate is Pizzelle’s artistic medium. Our team of highly trained chocolatiers, pastry chefs, and pastry cooks brainstorm, develop, prototype, and troubleshoot all of our recipes and decorations. We make our bonbons with the finest, fair-trade chocolate from Felchlin Switzerland, and we use fresh local ingredients whenever we can.
We decorate our chocolates with colored cocoa butter, cast them in chocolate and fill them with a variety of ganaches, caramels, and other confections. The chocolate-making process is very technical and relies on the perfect combination of time, temperature, patience, and precision. Pizzelle’s strives for perfection with all of our products, and no item hits the shelves without multiple quality tests.
Awards
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Creative Entrepreneur of the Year, Innovate Huntsville/Catalyst, 2016.
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This Place Matters Award, City of Huntsville/Mayor Battle, 2017.
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Local Creative of the Year, Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards, 2018.
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Hospitality Services of the Year, Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards, 2023.
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Created a Tang-inspired chocolate bar to promote the opening of The Orion Amphitheater.
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Women’s Economic Development Council Foundation (WEDC) Women Honoring Women Award, 2025.
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Voted #1 Chocolate Shop in the US by USA Today in 2024, #10 in 2025, & #4 in 2026.
Starstruck
In the summer of 2014, Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie Buckett in the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie, emceed a Willy Wonka-themed fundraiser in Huntsville and we catered desserts for the event. He came to Pizzelle’s, got a chocolate demo, hung out, and we talked life, chocolate, and the lifelong influence of Willy Wonka on us all.
In 2017, Pizzelle’s was featured on the Huntsville, AL episode of Samantha Brown’s travel show Places to Love on PBS. We spent the better part of a day with Samantha and her wonderful crew. Another once-in-a-lifetime experience!
As anyone who’s been to our shop knows, we’re huge fans of
“Weird” Al Yankovic! At his first Huntsville show, we arranged to get a box of chocolates to him, and a couple of weeks later, he emailed us, saying they were the best candies he’s ever had! You can see the framed and signed email on display at the shop! Since then, we’ve managed to get him a box at almost every show we’ve been to, and we created special desserts for his last Orion Amphitheater show.
Our Community
We love working with our local community to create unique chocolate and dessert items. We’ve worked with Yellowhammer Brewery, Orion Amphitheater, Straight to Ale Brewery, Kaffeeklatsch Coffee Roasters, and many other local businesses to create unique chocolate and dessert items. We buy fresh local ingredients through the Farm Food Collaborative and from other local farms, A few of our ongoing partnerships are with The Greater Huntsville Humane Society, the Land Trust of North Alabama, and the WEDC Foundation. Over the years, we’ve also worked with local non-profit fundraising campaigns for The Microwave Dave Music Education Foundation, Academy for Arts & Academics, Huntsville Pilgrimage Association, Food Bank of North Alabama, Parkinson’s Dynamics, and others. We’ve have been involved in community organizations such as the Women Economic Development Council (WEDC), the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, and the Women’s Business Council.
