“Chocolate makes me happy.”
That’s what Mechanicsburg business owner Sam Saidi said about his recent business venture, Royal Chocolate Crepe & Waffle.
Located at 5202 Simpson Ferry Road in Lower Allen Township, Royal Chocolate is a sweets shop offering crepes, pancakes, specialty chocolates, cheesecake, and a variety of specialty coffees.
Saidi, a Yemen-born immigrant, moved to the United States in 2006 and opened his first shop in 2011, a deli located in the Bronx, New York.
“The area [at the time] was so bad,” Saidi said. “I called the cops at least one or two times a day.”
So Saidi passed the deli along to his brother, who still runs it today, as the area has improved. In 2016, he opened an organic food shop in New York, which he said didn’t do well, and later opened a deli in Mobile, Alabama, that was successful.
Saidi, however, wanted to delve into something entirely different. He moved to Mechanicsburg in 2018 and looks forward to enhancing the food scene in central Pennsylvania.
“I want to provide the community with something new,” Saidi said. “There aren’t many shops like mine in the area.”
Located in the Windsor Park Shopping Center, Royal Chocolate offers patrons cheesecakes and crepes, made daily. The establishment also features fresh pistachio cream imported from Jordan, and Saidi even crafts his own Dubai chocolate bars.
On Sept. 15, the chocolate shop kicked off its soft opening phase, which, based on Google reviews, as shown to PennLive by Saidi, and its growing social media presence, has been successful. The shop has plans to hold a grand opening in early October.
“We are taking this time to learn the machines and get everything in order,” Saidi said. “All the reviews are great, and we hope to have a grand opening the first week of October.”
Saidi also plans to expand his business across the country, opening shops in Florida, Michigan, California, and another in Pennsylvania, all with the hopes of providing new food experiences to these areas. The second Pennsylvania store will be located in York County, and Saidi says he plans to sign the lease for that shop in October 2025.
Patrons who visit the shop can look forward to even more additions, including create-your-own menu options, a kids’ menu, and more fruity energy drinks, similar to those found at Starbucks or 7Brew, and a variety of food “challenges,” which will earn brave food-goers their photo on the wall of fame in the shop.
Royal Chocolate will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Sunday.
“I plan to do this for the rest of my life,” Saidi said. “I have found my passion.”