When I was a kid, my candy of choice was a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

Or two.

(I can still remember people coming out of the woodwork whenever I had the 2 pack at recess. Can I get an eye roll emoji?)

These days I’m a lot pickier about my chocolate and tend to gravitate towards makers who specialize in small batch, single origin, ethically sourced, and so on.

That being said, I was intrigued to discover that there’s a chocolatier with a NEW brick & mortar in Cranston, RI.

Aura Fajardo Quintero of Aura’s Chocolate Bar (I love, love, LOVE the name) — described as an “artisan chocolate shop and pantry” — is a formally trained pastry chef, specializing in chocolate, who graduated from JWU.

She is currently working with some of the world’s best cacao, from her native Venezuela, and a variety of locally sourced ingredients to create all kinds of incredible treats from peanut butter cups (!!!) to bars and beyond.

Prior to setting up shop at 250 East Street, she started her biz at Hope & Main in Warren. (A lot of high profile food companies and makers in Rhode Island, including IG Superstars PVDonuts, got their start over at H&W by the by.)

In addition to chocolate bars, gummy bears, and seasonal treats, Aura’s also stocks things like Bolt Coffee and sweets from Wright’s Bakery such as ice cream and (I think) brownies.

And (drum roll please) there will be a grand opening and ribbon cutting with samples and refreshments on Wednesday, June 9th at 10:30am.

If you’re more about at home hopping, you can also visit their online store.

For updates and additional deets, do check out their IG @AurasChocolate.

As always, if you find yourself purchasing some top shelf snacks and candy from Aura’s, do let them know you heard about them via Patty J and PattyJ.com.