Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium has held this spot on Main Street in Bar Harbor since 1980, and its storefront is right in front of you. This is part of a New England chain that began life as Trahan's Candies, founded in 1956 by Paul and Mary Trahan. Their very first shop was tucked inside Ben Franklin's Store in Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard, and two years later the Trahans opened their own retail location in Oak Bluffs.
The family expanded into Falmouth and Hyannis for the summer months, and even set up two winter locations in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, with each shop making its own candy and chocolates. In 1983 the chain added ice cream, and here in Bar Harbor they began with sixteen flavors, growing as demand dictated. Today this Main Street emporium offers 64 hard-serve ice cream flavors — including the lobster flavor introduced in 1988 — and twelve gelatos.
The Oak Bluffs store, after a 2004 sale, became the company’s headquarters, but it’s here on Main Street where the scoops, chocolates, and local history meet. Notice the sign above the door, and the window listing 64 flavors and twelve gelatos, waiting to be chosen.