Sweet, savory, side-by-side

WABASHA, Minn. — Two connected and complimenting businesses have created a marriage of sweet and savory in downtown Wabasha.

With views of the Mississippi River out their back window, the establishments Chocolate Escape and Big Jo Pizza offer a selection of comfort foods. Gooey pizzas, rich soups, beer and wine are on the menu at Big Jo Pizza and Chocolate Escape offers ice cream, coffee, and, of course, the highlight of the store — handmade artisan chocolate candies.

Brian Steffenhagen, who has over 30 years of restaurant experience, is general manager of the two stores and chef at Big Jo Pizza. Chocolate Escape has existed as a business since the early 2000s, but Big Jo Pizza started in May 2023 when Chocolate Escape and the space next door was acquired by new owners.

Steffenhagen transferred from another restaurant owned by these owners to help the new restaurant in the space next to Chocolate Escape get going, and he has never left.

“I hope (people) find us that nice little hidden gem, the top-quality, Neapolitan-style wood fire pizza, … that rare find,” Steffenhagen said.

Jeni Arnold, the chocolatier at Chocolate Escape, also came on in May 2023. She had a background in hospitality, but chocolate is something she learned on the job.

“Everybody enjoys chocolate for different reasons,” Arnold said. “I enjoy it to sit and relax, so I hope it brings (people) some relaxation and just calm.”

Arnold travels to other candy stores for inspiration. When considering creating a new item, she thinks about how it will be consumed.

“I try to think of ease of eating it,” Arnold said. “Is it something that can be eaten in one bite, two bites, or is it something that needs more stability?”

A recent addition she helped create is their s’more, which features graham crackers, caramel and marshmallow, all dipped in chocolate.

“Although other companies had (s’mores) we put our own twist on it,” Arnold said.

When Steffenhagen joined Big Jo Pizza, the restaurant did not have recipes for its in-house dough or sauce.

Steffenhagen developed a sauce that features notes of rosemary, and when melded alongside other toppings, it has a light and vibrant flavor with a faint hint of spice on the backside.

“We wanted something that had a little bit of a pep to it,” Steffenhagen said. “You take your base recipe, and you make it and ‘OK, I’d like to have a little more heat. I’d like to have a little more of these flavors come out.’ So, now make it again, and add a little less of this and a little more of that.”

The sauce recipe contains a portion of the approximately 50 pounds of butter the restaurant uses each month.

“There’s butter in a lot of everything,” Steffenhagen said. “I do not use margarine.”

Steffenhagen likes how natural fats work.

“Things don’t act the same when you don’t use real ingredients,” he said.

Steffenhagen said he sees cooking as a science.

“Cooking is just chemistry, but you get to eat when you’re done,” he said. “You’re changing properties. You’re doing science experiments.”

The pizzas are topped with a blend of 50% mozzarella and 50% provolone. The cheese is made with 5% buffalo milk, which Steffenhagen said makes a richer, creamier melt.

He said mozzarella is an oilier cheese, so the blend reduces the amount of separated oil on the pizza when baked. Customers experience a crust with a “crisp crunch from the oven” Steffenhagen said because it does not get soggy with separated oil when cut.

“You maintain that real nice, long, stringy pull,” Steffenhagen said. “But you don’t have the heavy oils along with it.”

The restaurant goes through 120-150 pounds of cheese a week and during busy seasons this amount can be doubled or tripled.

Arnold’s chocolate confections also contain dairy. She uses Wilbur Chocolate in dark, milk and white as her base. Around 15-30 pounds of chocolate goes out the door weekly with 75% of their sales as milk chocolate and the rest as dark and white chocolate.

Arnold makes her chocolates in a small, windowed room where customers can watch. She said though for her the work is routine, for those watching it means more.

“To see something made handmade, no matter what it is, if it’s somebody painting a picture … or making pottery, making chocolate, … to somebody else it’s an art form,” Arnold said.

If in-store traffic is slow, Arnold will allow a child to put on gloves and dip a pretzel rod in chocolate for themselves.

“To hear the parents say, ‘This is a memory that’s going to last a lifetime,’ is what we want to hear when we are making chocolate,” Arnold said. “We’ve brought joy to somebody else.”

The Chocolate Escape also offers ice cream and coffee drinks. During the busy season they scoop 45-60 gallons of ice cream a week. Between Chocolate Escape and Big Jo Pizza, they use about 4-8 gallons of milk and 3 gallons of heavy cream a week.

Looking to the future, Arnold said she would like to grow Chocolate Escape as a gift option over the holidays, to get their candies into boutiques, and to become a destination for quality and value.

Steffenhagen expects to see growth at Big Jo Pizza by next spring. Road construction in front of and near the restaurant since its inception has hindered traffic previously. On a busy night they make 70-80 pies. However, Steffenhagen said they have the capacity for 150.

“The first year and a half has been let’s get everything refined,” he said. “Let’s get our product dialed in. Let’s get our recipes honed in. Let’s get everything ready to go and be prepared. … We’ve been getting a lot of compliments on the pizza and starting to pick up some positive reviews.