Rabble-Rouser Chocolate & Craft Co., Montpelier
“Seeing the cleanup has been powerful. It feels good because everyone is in it together. It’s not just us; it’s the whole town.” –Raul Fernandez, Co-owner, Rabble-Rouser
This 100 percent worker-owned company creates luscious chocolate using top-quality cacao beans and returns fair wages to the farmers who grow them. Rabble-Rouser also produces granola, CBD confections, and other handcrafted delights, distributing them to food co-ops and independent grocers across the globe.
On that Monday, I was watching the water rise along Main Street. There were already a few inches of water inside our main floor. At 5 p.m., I had to lock the front door, get in my car that was submerged, and drive away for safety. The workers left earlier that afternoon. I was the last one to leave.
Our security cameras were still working so I could track what was happening inside. I watched the office flood as the water came up to the doorknobs.
When we came back in on Wednesday, we saw things had floated from room to room. Thank God, the marble-topped bars were bolted to the floor and didn’t budge. We had lifted as much as we could on top of the bars, counters, and shelves so most things came through okay. The two bar-back fridges were floating around like boats, and we lost our two couches, a player piano and all the sheet music, and the performance stage. In the office we lost our computer system and a bin of tax records, and company papers got soaked but I’ll look through them when they dry out. Fortunately, we had more important documents stored on higher shelves so they weren’t damaged.
And then there was all the mud. It was thick and smelled horrible. The Montpelier Alive volunteers were amazing and kept coming, and that’s how we got everything cleaned. Our landlord, Bill, has been very helpful. Bill, my co-owner Joy Crossette, and I were here every day for about six weeks getting this place back in shape. We’ve been ordering appliances, making repairs on equipment that made it through the flood, replastering and repainting, and trying to get everything squared away with the Department of Health so we can open safely.
Living in destruction works with your head. It’s mentally challenging to come in every day. I haven’t left Montpelier since July 10. I’ve just been watching how everything is progressing. Seeing the cleanup has been powerful. It feels good because everyone is in it together. It’s not just us; it’s the whole town.
Our GoFundMe has helped us buy appliances and pay some staff who were here working. When we opened at the end of August, we started easy with coffee and pastries. Chocolate production will begin once the new appliances come in. Having the place filled with people will be good for our souls.
