The Dillsboro Chocolate Factory now has a new retail location at 2726 Parkway in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The new store, located inside the Beef Jerky Outlet, offers a unique customer experience. Shoppers can select from the finest beef jerky and smoked meats, along with award winning Dillsboro chocolates and fudge.

Scott Parker, owner of The Beef Jerky Outlet, and Bob Williams, owner of the Dillsboro Chocolate Factory, have developed a store featuring both the Beef Jerky Outlet and the Dillsboro Chocolate Factory. The Chocolate Factory's creamy, smooth fudge is very a popular item at many other Beef Jerky Outlet stores, and they thought it would be a great idea to offer the complete product line under one roof.

The original Dillsboro Chocolate Factory has been a favorite stop for visitors to the North Carolina–side of the Great Smoky Mountains since 1998. Located in the quaint mountain town of Dillsboro, the Chocolate Factory is just about 15 minutes south of Cherokee on US 441.

The concept is now reality, and residents and visitors to the Tennessee side of the Smokies can enjoy the complete line of Dillsboro Chocolate Factory’s award-winning chocolates and smooth creamy fudge. 

The Chocolate Factory makes some of the finest chocolate treats around using only gourmet single bean Venezuelan cocoa for all of its tasty treats. Specialties include Smoky Mountain Truffles and Shooters, along with a wide assortment of dipped and molded chocolates available in milk, dark, and white chocolate.

The Smoky Mountain Truffles are all named for iconic places in the Smokies, like Chimney Tops, Cades Cove, Cold Mountain, and Black Rock. Each flavor of truffle has a unique recipe. Chimney Tops is a chai tea truffle flavored with nutmeg, cinnamon, black tea, and cloves. This truffle earned first place in the 2009 Taste of Chocolate show in Waynesville, North Carolina. There are more than a dozen original Smoky Mountain Truffle flavors available.

Shooters are the newest line of fine chocolates created by the Dillsboro Chocolate Factory. Shooters take the award-winning Ganache (chocolate cream filling) recipe used in making the truffles and add a touch of spirits to create interesting new flavors. Fire Jack shooters are made with milk chocolate Ganache infused with cinnamon and Jack Daniels. Apple Martini shooters are made with white chocolate Ganache infused with Apple Pucker and apple cider.

The Chocolate Factory's Wild Turkey shooter earned first place honors in the Professional Division at the 2012 Taste of Chocolate held in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Wild Turkey shooters start with creamy milk chocolate Ganache infused with caramel, fine crushed pecans, and, of course, real Wild Turkey 101. As a final touch, the Wild Turkey shooter is topped with the Dillsboro Chocolate Factory’s own butter toffee.

While the truffles and shooters are delicious, the heart of the Dillsboro Chocolate Factory is the handmade chocolates and fudge. There are dozens of flavors of handmade chocolate and fudge treats.

For more adventurous chocolate lovers there is a specialty line of savory chocolates each made with spices. These include hot spicy Aztec bars, Cajun chocolate, and a unique ginger chocolate. Every now and then, the Chocolate Factory offers Caribbean Jerk chocolate as well as whole peppercorn chocolate bars.

For fudge lovers, there are more than a dozen flavors made each week in Dillsboro and brought over to Pigeon Forge, as well as the Beef Jerky Outlet stores in the area. Summer fun flavors include watermelon and key lime pie, which is made with real Key Lime juice from Key Largo, Florida, with an original recipe graham cracker crust. There is always good old plain chocolate fudge, as well.

Williams is excited about bringing the store to the Tennessee side of the Smokies. The opportunity to partner with a long time wholesale client and friend is a natural step for both the Dillsboro Chocolate Factory and the Beef Jerky Outlet.

Parker is equally enthusiastic about combining two premium product lines in one location. "Shoppers don't have to decide between beef jerky, chocolate, and fudge,” he says. “They can have it all."