The Chocolate Season Story

Friday, October 22, 2021

The Chocolate Season Story

by Jordyn Senstock

Jordyn Senstock
The front counter of the shop The Chocolate Season. The shop is located at 3855 Village Lane, Ste 100, Lincoln, Nebraska.

To some, the act of leaving an angel food cake with a handwritten note at a loved one's house may seem like such a simple action. But to Erika Jensen, it meant so much more.

Her grandmother, Vernette Hesvik, was notorious for showing her love through food and baked goods. To this day, Jensen remembers the way these generous actions made her feel seen, loved, and appreciated; almost like getting wrapped in a warm hug. It is because of her grandmother's love for baking, that Jensen decided to create a business, focused on just that: baking delicious goods for individuals to share with the people they love.

Jensen studied marketing at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. After graduating, she worked as a marketing assistant but felt there was more for her to accomplish.

With the support of her loved ones, Jensen left the corporate world and began her new business, The Chocolate Season, a shop focusing on baked goods and chocolate. She soon moved it to a schoolhouse outside of Omaha. "I figured it out as we went," she said.

Jensen decided that if she was going to be a chocolatier, she needed to gain all of the knowledge possible. She traveled to Europe for continuing education, putting all of the expenses on a credit card. Jensen and her husband agreed that even though they did not have the funds to comfortably support the trip, she needed to be the best chocolatier she could be. This included getting the finest education, so Jensen continued to travel to Switzerland and France. Ultimately, she decided on what she liked best from each countries' cuisine and used this knowledge to begin creating pure, beautifully crafted chocolate in the midwest.

After her first store was up and running outside of Omaha, Jensen decided she wanted to move back to her hometown of Algona, Iowa. There, it was impossible to be "just a chocolate shop," due to the town's small size. To keep up with demand, she began to offer coffee, the sales of which became extremely popular and evolved into an introduction of even more products, including waffles and savory items.

While Jensen loved her time in her hometown, her sister, who lived in Lincoln, became ill. Jensen recalls this event as a moment that "woke up" her priorities. She decided that being by her sister's side took precedence, so she and her husband moved to Lincoln. In late November of 2019, Jensen opened The Chocolate Season, right off of 40th and Old Cheney.

Unfortunately for Jensen, COVID-19 became an issue shortly after opening. In February of 2020, the first cases of COVID-19 had been announced, and businesses had completely shut down by the end of March. Due to the pandemic, Jensen says their "timeline was skewed." They decided to operate solely through the drive-thru during most of 2020 year. In fact, the chocolatier claims that Mother's Day weekend was the busiest one in The Chocolate Season's history. When families realized they would likely not be able to visit their moms on Mother's Day, Jensen's business allowed individuals to remind them they were loved, even if they were not physically together.

While the pandemic was, and still is, affecting her business, her proudest achievement in 2020 was that The Chocolate Season was able to retain and continue paying all of their employees. In fact, Jensen found a way to give her employees raises during the pandemic. Even though the pandemic was an unpredictable time, especially for small businesses, Jensen knew she could not give up on her employees when they needed her most.

Despite Jensen's success as a businesswoman, she still faces gender stereotyping. The entrepreneur recalls instances where vendors call to discuss business, but ask for her husband instead of her.

As the pandemic seems to slow, Jensen continues to push her message of "no artificiality" with The Chocolate Season. She constantly travels to try new foods, coffees and chocolate and never wants her customers to feel "catfished" when visiting her store.

"What you see is what you get" with The Chocolate Season, and this includes not cutting corners. Jensen provides treats, all handmade, fresh and made with love. She only uses the best ingredients for her goods, so each and every bite takes the customer through a delicious, chocolatey experience.

Additional Images

  • Gran'Ma Photo by Jordyn Senstock
    Jordyn Senstock
  • TCS Exterior by Jordyn Senstock
    Jordyn Senstock
  • TCS Interior by Jordyn Senstock
    Jordyn Senstock

Subscribe to Heartland Webzine

You can subscribe to Heartland Webzine using the button below.

Subscribe Now

Follow Heartland Webzine on Social

LinkedIn Icon Facebook Icon Instagram Icon