Facts

Domenico “Domingo” Ghirardelli was born in Italy in the year 1817, where he made chocolate as a kid. Domingo came to San Francisco during the 1849 Gold Rush. He brought with him 6,000 pounds of chocolate! Domingo made his fortune by selling it.

In May 1851 Domingo’s store got burned down. He rebuilt it at 900 North Point Street. It was reopened in 1859.

People who worked at Ghirardelli Factory discovered that if you hang a bag of chocolate in a warm room it turns to cocoa!

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