The chocolate factory on Pattison Avenue now has a place to sit down. Bissinger’s Chocolate Cafe opened in September 2025 inside the company’s factory on The Hill, St. Louis Public Radio reported in its monthly roundup of openings.
The factory, at 5025 Pattison Ave., is owned by the Abel family, which runs Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Co. and Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier.
Part of a bigger build-out
The cafe came with an expansion of the production plant. KSDK reported that the family bought a nearby building to roughly double the main facility, and that a chocolate cafe was part of the plan to bring visitors back to the factory. St. Louis Magazine reported in August 2025 that the owners had bought and torn down a neighboring former tool and die shop to make room.
Before opening, the company told St. Louis Magazine the cafe would pour a custom coffee blend from Kaldi’s, serve breads and pastries from Companion, and feature local brands such as Volpi. The business holds a full liquor license, and the owners described plans for a speakeasy with chocolate-themed cocktails and a Bissinger’s cabernet sauvignon made with a Napa winemaker. We have not confirmed which of those features are available now.
A Dec. 18, 2025 episode of the Eat Me in St. Louis podcast, published by The Arts STL, reviewed the cafe’s drinks and sandwiches and a boxed St. Louis Chocolate Collection made with local partners.
How Bissinger’s came to The Hill
Dan Abel Sr. and his wife, Rosalie, founded Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Co. in 1981 and moved its production to The Hill in 2012, according to trade publication Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery. In 2019 the family bought the Bissinger’s brand and equipment, including a mixer and desk that belonged to Karl Bissinger. According to the family’s history, Bissinger’s traces its roots to 17th-century France. It has been based in St. Louis since 1927. The two brands kept separate identities after the deal.
St. Louis Magazine reported that factory tours began after the company opened its current space in 2012.
For more on the neighborhood’s past, see our History of The Hill timeline.
Sources: St. Louis Public Radio, KSDK, St. Louis Magazine, The Arts STL, Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery.
