A TRADITIONAL speciality chocolate shop is to expand its empire for the first time in 88 years!

Ye Olde Friars has traded from the same spot in Keswick since 1927 and is still owned by the same family.

But now entrepreneurial brothers Michael and Richard Webster are at the helm, they have decided to take their winning formula to South Lakeland.

The second Ye Olde Friars will open in Market Place, Ambleside, in late April or early May 2015, creating seven permanent jobs.

The actual opening date is yet to be announced as all the counters and fittings within the new shop are being created as bespoke pieces by local craftsmen.

So while the shop will be brand new, its fittings and fixtures will be custom made, vintage or antique to create the Ye Olde Friars charm.

The brothers bought the old HSBC building in Ambleside and have invested £100,000 in the new shop, using Cumbrian tradesmen to transform the bank into a chocolate shop. One of the challenges in the conversion was removing the old vaults in the basement - it took three men three weeks to break down two walls!

Michael described how they’ll be tempting new customers: “We’ll be celebrating the opening of our new shop in Ambleside with free tastings of our luxury chocolate drops which come in seven different flavours - milk, white, cappuccino, honey, strawberry, lime and orange. We’re probably best known for our range of handmade chocolate truffles and interesting chocolate gifts - like games controllers or guitars but we are also the only place between Manchester and Newcastle that sells all 50 flavours of Jelly Belly beans. These little jelly beans are combined to create Jelly Belly ‘cocktails’ which we’ll also be offering samples of.”

Richard explained the family history: “Ye Olde Friars was opened by William Long, our grandmother’s brother in the 1920s. When he died, my grandmother Eileen Webster took over and was later joined in the business by our parents John and Gina Webster. They stepped back from running the shop four years ago and Michael and I now take care of the business. It has grown and changed over the past 88 years, we have special seasonal ranges that are always changing and we also sell an increasing amount of chutneys, preserves, biscuits and other exclusive gifts both in the shop and on the internet.”