“Life is all about the leisure and happiness we find in food, art, and beauty.”
English text by Angela Feng
Pictures courtesy of MarieBelle
Nestled among the historic, cast-iron buildings of Soho in Lower Manhattan is MarieBelle New York. Upon stepping into this charming boutique cafe, one is instantly transported to a dreamy and elegant scene straight out of a fairy tale. Exquisite crystal chandeliers, Tiffany-blue walls, and chic marble coffee tables are offset by playful embellishments and colorful displays. Since the store’s opening in 2001, founder Maribel Lieberman has been sharing her passion for chocolate with the world and, consequently, reinventing the way we enjoy the sweet delicacy.
Finding Her Path
Maribel was born in Honduras, as the youngest of eight children. Her passion for confections began at an early age. As an 8-year-old, she would often make sugared candies and sell them to other children in her neighborhood. However, despite her early dabblings in the trade, chocolatiering hadn’t always been her path.
In high school, at her mother’s prompting, Maribel enrolled in English and secretarial courses. However, it didn’t take long for her to see that this wasn’t the right path. Having always been an artistic soul, she soon realized that her true passions lay in the creative industry. This realization led her across 2,000 miles—from a small town in Honduras to the Big Apple.
Growing up with a mother and grandma who were both seamstresses gave Maribel a love for fashion and design. Upon graduating from Parsons, she found work in the fashion industry, sketching and working freelance jobs. However, Maribel still felt as though something was missing. “I felt very empty,” she recalled. “I like fashion, but the industry is very competitive … Everybody wants to make it to the top, no matter what.”
Discovering her passions
It was around this time that Maribel discovered her passion for food. In her free time, she enjoyed exploring New York’s myriad ethnic neighborhoods. From Chinatown, to Little Italy, to the city’s many Indian restaurants, she was constantly discovering new spices and different ingredients.
For Maribel, cooking is a way of making art. “In my opinion, a chef is painting with her ingredients. Just as one color may not go well with another, some ingredients don’t go together,” she explained. Her curiosity, creativity, and inborn knack for taste led her to successfully launch a five-year catering business: Maribel’s Gourmet Cuisine. However, she didn’t stop there. Catering merely paved the way for her first store, and ultimately led to her discovery of chocolate as her lifelong passion.
In 2000, Maribel opened her first store: Lunettes et Chocolat. It carried a unique combination of chocolate and eyeglasses. At the time, one of Maribel’s friends had been trying to open an eyeglass shop. With Manhattan’s steep rent prices, they thought, “why not combine our visions?” Originally, Maribel had planned for a gourmet store, but with limited funds, she decided to focus on chocolate.
A year later, in December 2001, she debuted her first solo store: MarieBelle New York. In a rush to open in time for Christmas, she rented a small gallery in Soho, thinking it would be temporary. Little did she know then, however, it would continue to serve as MarieBelle’s location for the next 18 years.
Standing her ground
Through its rapid growth and expansion, Maribel’s career is characterized by her steady will and willingness to go against the norm. She recalls that in the beginning, she was criticized for choosing to use dark chocolate. “People told me I wouldn’t do well, because Americans are used to milk chocolate,” she explained.
Nevertheless, Maribel trusted her taste and instinct. It proved to be the right decision. A month later, a Vogue article came out, proclaiming the benefits of dark chocolate and sharply increasing its popularity.
This same intuition has bolstered MarieBelle into the international brand it is today. In 2012, MarieBelle opened its first overseas store in Kyoto. Again, this decision was doubted by those around her. “They told me, you’re not going to make it. You have to start in Tokyo, before coming to Kyoto,” Maribel recalled.
However, Maribel recognized the merits of starting in the more traditional Kyoto, and stuck to her decision. Once again, it proved correct. MarieBelle chocolate conquered the taste buds of Kyoto’s people, making the first overseas store a success. Today, MarieBelle has four locations across Japan.
With its rich flavors and impeccable quality, MarieBelle chocolate has sweetened the lives of people all over the world. It uses ingredients of only the highest caliber: Criollo cocoa beans, Tahitian vanilla, Japanese matcha, and Puerto Rican rum. Despite the vast expansion of her business over the past 18 years, Maribel continues to visit the Soho store every day. “I love this place,” she said, with a reminiscent smile. “It takes me back to the beginning.”
