COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — At the start of the holiday season, hot chocolate bombs went viral on social media. One video that made a splash locally was from The Village Bakery in Coeur d’Alene.
KREM 2’s Nicole Hernandez first told the bakery’s story at the end of October. Since then, the bakery has made over 3,000 hot chocolate bombs.
Dana Bellefeuille, who owns the bakery, is donating all the proceeds from the hot cocoa bomb sales to the Panhandle Autism Society. She chose that organization because she has two children who are diagnosed with disabilities.
Plus, her bakery focuses on hiring people with disabilities. They have been overjoyed at the response the bakery has received.
“The community has rallied not only around us, but our special needs community, and I cannot express my thanks enough,” Bellefeuille said.
When KREM first spoke to Bellefeuille, she had raised $900 for the Autism Society. After two months of work, she is up to $17,000.
“It means the world to me as a parent with special needs children…I know that they just want their children to be accepted, because I just want mine,” she said.
After accounting for taxes and the cost of production, Bellefeuille said she is expecting to donate $10,000.
The Village Bakery was supposed to open an actual location at the beginning of 2020 but the pandemic forced them to delay opening. But the bakery will soon have a location at 4th Street and Prairie Avenue in Coeur d’Alene.
Bellefeuille is signing a lease for a shop this week before beginning the construction process.
The new location’s doors will open in April 2021. In the meantime, people can order the bakery’s goods online, including Bellefeuille’s New Year’s-themed hot chocolate bomb.
