Royce’ Chocolate, a Japanese chocolate company known for boxes of cocoa-dusted ganache pieces, has opened a boutique in Carrollton Town Center.
It’s the second location in Texas for the company—the other is in Houston—but it’s not the first time Royce’ has been in North Texas. For about a year, there was a stand inside the Mitsuwa Japanese market in Plano, and there was at least one pop-up in the Design District in 2019.
The Carrollton location, at 2540 Old Denton Rd., is having a soft opening, with a big emphasis on soft. There isn’t a sign out front, and the imported chocolates are displayed neatly on white bookshelves. But there are Royce’ signs and banners inside, and plenty of samples to try. A sales associate told me folks have been calling the store to see if it’s the real deal. It is.
The company started in 1983 in Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. Royce’ is best known for its nama chocolate, which comes in thin boxes with about 20 pieces. Nama is a ganache made from chocolate, cream, and sugar, and it’s smooth and very rich. It’s cut into tiny bricks and dusted with fine cocoa or matcha, depending on the flavor. To prevent the powder from getting everywhere, each box comes with a tiny spatula for serving.
The chocolatier also sells chocolate bars, squares, chocolate-coated nuts and wafers, cookies, potato chips, and more. They also sell individually wrapped pure chocolate discs. Flavors include white, matcha, milk, and dark chocolates, and some are infused with alcohol.
We can’t really talk about the company without talking about the name. Royce’ has an apostrophe tacked to the end of it, and I couldn’t find a legitimate reason on its website. Wikipedia says the company’s name is derived from the founder’s name, Yasuhiro Yamazaki. His name, in Japanese characters, was allegedly reversed, changed for aesthetic reasons, and interpreted in several ways until it was spelled in English as “Royce’s,” which was then simplified to “Royce’.”
Folks have been flocking north to get their chocolates regardless of the name and its floating apostrophe. In Carrollton, customers can show up and purchase the chocolate in-store, but if they want it gift-wrapped, they should order online for pick-up. They don’t deliver or ship from this location.
The boutique is stocked with popular items like nama, bars, and potato chips, and seasonal items will come later. A full, constructed boutique is expected to open next year in the same location.
A box of nama chocolates runs a hefty $19.99. With only 20 pieces in each box, they’re basically a dollar each. When I passed through the Haneda Airport in February, one box retailed about $7-8 USD each. (I grabbed six, and my dad grabbed 14.) Considering shipping costs and packaging—nama chocolates have to stay cold, so they’re shipped to the States frozen with dry ice—the cost makes sense. But is it worth it?
One customer told another sales associate that her significant other was desperately looking for a box of nama chocolates after the Plano stand closed in 2019. She went with the Ghana Bitter flavor, a creamy dark chocolate ganache with no alcohol. I grabbed the same box. Nama boxes are wrapped in a silvery freezer bag with a pack of ice. The sales associate threw in a few samples of milk and matcha chocolates into the shopping bag.
Opening the box is like unveiling 20 tiny treasures. The tray has notches along the side and a path for the small plastic spatula to follow along the bottom to lift each piece. One downside, besides the price, is that there are at least two layers of plastic to get through before reaching it.
Because nama needs to be chilled, the ganache is sturdy and a delight to chew. It almost melts in your mouth. After Brian Reinhart and I took our first bites, we decided that one piece alone could satisfy a chocolate craving. Brian took a beat because the first piece was so rich. But he reached for a second.
Royce’ Chocolate, 2540 Old Denton Rd., Ste. 311, Carrollton.
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