Hidden between boutiques and cafes at Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village, SWEET55 offers something rare: swiss chocolate made fresh, not flown in.

Ursula Schnyder, the owner of SWEET55, opened her first production kitchen in Half Moon Bay in 2015 expanding to the Palo Alto boutique in 2022.

Before she was crafting pistachio marzipan and milk ganache, Schnyder was a journalist covering California’s food culture, not only drawn to the story, but to the cuisine itself.

“It was basically a childhood dream to found that business,” Schnyder said. “Every time I was in a kitchen, I thought, ‘Hmm, that’s actually really what I wanted to do,’ … so I decided to quit my job.”

Schnyder studied at the San Francisco Baking Institute and then returned to Switzerland, training specifically in traditional chocolate making. After mastering all the techniques, recipes and formulas, Schnyder launched SWEET55, her own hand-crafted Swiss chocolate company, from her backyard cottage in Palo Alto.

“Any other Swiss chocolate that you buy anywhere in the United States is actually not manufactured in the United States,” Schnyder said. “It’s manufactured in Switzerland, and then it’s shipped over.”

Unlike most Swiss chocolate sold in the United States, SWEET55’s products are made fresh locally and without preservatives.

When customers ask which chocolate is the healthiest, Schnyder likes to smile and give them her usual answer.

“We are not in the health business, we are in the pleasure business,” Schnyder said.

That same love of indulgence lives just across the city at Rick’s Rather Rich Ice Cream.

Founded in 1956, Rick’s Ice Cream has been a classic in the Palo Alto local community for decades.

Co-managed by Kiki Khosla and her family, the small, independent ice cream shop has attracted much attention for the past 14 years, and continues to draw customers from all corners of the community with its rich flavors.

While Khosla had no prior experience in the food industry, the decision to take over Rick’s came naturally. Her family was quickly won over by the quality of the product.
“Once we tried the ice cream, there was no going back,” Khosla said. “It’s just so good.”
Today, Rick’s continues to stand out with its fresh, high-quality ingredients.

“We make everything in-house with mostly locally sourced ingredients or things that are more premium than other places,” Khosla said.

On any given day, the shop sees a wide variety of regular customers: students pouring in after school and longtime locals stopping by for their usual scoop.

“Some people have been coming here since they were kids — and now they’re grandparents,” Khosla said.

At its core, Rick’s is much more than just an ice cream shop — it’s a place created by the community for family gathering.

“Rick’s is a community shop,” Khosla said. “It’s still alive because of the city and the people who support it.”