New pastries and confections will soon be available downtown when chocolatier Frank Vollkommer opens his second Chocolate Mill at 382 Broadway. The bakery and confectionery will be located next-door to Boca Bistro, where Johnny’s Italian Ice Cream used to be. 

The pastry shop will sell a variety of handmade artisan foods, including cakes, cookies, pastries, confections, savory, and more. The Chocolate Mill will also offer special-occasion cakes to order, including wedding cakes. A full line of chocolates will be made on the premises. Barista coffee drinks will be available, but the Saratoga store will not offer breakfast and lunch like the original Glens Falls Chocolate Mill.

All the Chocolate Mill’s products are made from scratch, according to Vollkommer. For those who would like to take a bit of the shop experience home with them, merchandise is available: boxed chocolates, coffees, teas, mugs, towels, aprons, and assorted gift baskets. Products can be shipped as gifts.

The shop is a balanced blend of old-world charm and new-world sophistication, he said.

Vollkommer, a Saratoga native, is an exclusive certified master pastry chef and has been an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America. He originally studied at the New England Culinary Institute.

“After school, I worked my way up from dish-washer to chef,” he said. “Now I am certified by the American Culinary Federation. Only four people in the country have recently taken that 10-day exam.”

Vollkommer’s first Chocolate Mill has been at 164 Glen Street, Glens Falls, for three years. It offers all the edibles of the Saratoga store, as well as a full-service coffee bar and café. Customers can dine in or order out. 

The master pastry chef decided to venture into Spa City because a notable percentage of his Glens Falls customers live in or around Saratoga, and had requested he open a southern location. 

“I am looking forward to the culture of Saratoga Springs; being immersed in that,” he said. “My store and my brand belong there. It feels great to be home.”

Vollkommer hopes to open in time for Saratoga’s First Night celebration on New Year’s Eve. His projected hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday to cater to the post-restaurant crowd.

--Jennie