Chocolates on Broadway is listed as a Food Products vendor at location 56 for ArtsQuest's Christkindlmarkt opening weekend, running Friday through Sunday.
According to vendor listings published by artsquest.org, Chocolates on Broadway is listed for the November 13–15 weekend. The market itself takes place at PNC Plaza at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, as detailed on ArtsQuest's own event page.
The market sits on a site reshaped by Bethlehem’s industrial decline: the Bethlehem Steel plant closed in 1995, and the former mill grounds were later redeveloped as the SteelStacks arts and cultural campus. ArtsQuest describes SteelStacks as a community-led transformation of the historic industrial site, while the National Endowment for the Arts has documented the campus’s role in Bethlehem’s revitalization. The holiday market is one part of that broader effort to draw visitors to the former steelworks. The NEA’s account of the project traces that redevelopment.
Chocolates on Broadway describes itself as having served customers since 1978 and remaining family owned and operated, according to its own website. The shop's roots as a business reportedly stretch back even further, with the shop having started in 1906 before Steve Bussenger's parents bought it in 1978 — meaning the Bangor confectioner is marking its 48th anniversary under the Bussenger family this November.
What's on the Market Calendar
Christkindlmarkt hours, per ArtsQuest, run 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The event is presented by Univest Financial, according to the same ArtsQuest page.
The market has been drawing bigger crowds each year. WFMZ reported that the 2025 Christkindlmarkt pulled in 145,552 shoppers, an increase of nearly 14% over 2024, with nearly 170 vendors, crafters and artisans representing 14 states and Scotland setting up between November 14 and December 21 that year. The station also noted that four rentable heated igloos debuted at the 2025 market and became an instant hit, with rentals selling out quickly across most weekends.
The market’s draw has also translated into measurable economic activity. ArtsQuest said Christkindlmarkt generated about $14.1 million in regional economic impact in 2025, up 27.2% from 2024. The organization linked the increase in part to the debut of Winter Wonderland and expanded holiday programming. The event’s reported impact was part of a record year for ArtsQuest, whose programming generated nearly $192.7 million across the Lehigh Valley.
Cocoa Costs Still Weighing on Chocolatiers
Rising cocoa prices have been a persistent headache for chocolate makers like Bussenger. The Morning Call reported in March 2026 that cocoa prices had fallen to a little over $3,400 per metric ton, down from recent highs, though chocolatiers said the elevated costs were still being felt. Bussenger told the outlet, “I've been doing this about 35 years now and I don't ever remember cocoa being so high,” adding that stable prices in the range of “$2,500 to $5,000 per metric ton, that would be good for everybody.”
The cocoa-cost squeeze followed a sharp global supply shock, not simply a local change in ingredient prices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service said successive smaller harvests in 2023 and 2024 helped drive a 310% increase in the global price of cocoa beans, which reached a record $10,412 per metric ton in December 2024. USDA’s analysis of the price surge also noted that high prices coincided with declining U.S. cocoa imports.
The shop heads into its holiday market run, joining a lineup ArtsQuest describes as including dozens of artisan vendors. Tickets and additional information on the market are available through ArtsQuest's website.
