Dandelion Chocolate Factory

The chocolate may be elegantly simple with only two basic ingredients but the process of procuring the beans, fermenting, and roasting them is one that has been brilliantly engineered by the founders at Dandelion Chocolate Factory on 16th and Alabama in San Francisco’s Mission district. Dandelion Chocolate Factory partnered with Henderson Engineers to bring this “bean-to-bar” small-batch factory to life after half a decade of planning and designing.

One of the main goals was to seamlessly integrate all of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems throughout the retail, café area, tasting salon, and factory with the 107 year old historical structure. To achieve this overall goal while also meeting the temperature and exhaust flow requirements of the Factory’s chocolate making equipment, our team designed a displacement style supply distribution with underfloor HVAC duct work. Several acoustic measures such as; duct wraps and acoustical plenums, were utilized to control the noise between the equipment and adjacent spaces. The factory includes a full professional pastry kitchen with a rooftop event space for both the public and employees to enjoy. Through extensive coordination between the design team and chocolatier, the Dandelion Chocolate Factory can now boast an end user experience that goes beyond their delicious creations. Trust us, this is one shop you won’t want to miss next time you visit San Francisco.

*Photo(s) courtesy of Ryan Gobuty/Gensler.