Mary Alice and Susannah Meinersman of Bon Bons Chocolatier in Huntington Village are proud to be the 2020 community honorees for the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education. This mother and daughter duo, along with their talented staff, have delighted Long Island with their hand-crafted chocolates, classic confections and gift selections for over 40 years.
Bon Bons evolved from Mary Alice taking a part time chocolate dipping job and ultimately buying the business 4 ½ years later with her Industrial Arts Teacher husband, Peter. The business was re-designed and moved to the current Main Street location with Susannah. While maintaining the focus on creating delicious, hand made products, the store has changed dramatically and grown. Customers look forward to everchanging seasonal displays, yearly Halloween give away (in costume, of course) and personalized service all year round.
Bon Bons has employed many local Residents over the years, including more than 50 Huntington High School students. For many of them, it was their first job. “We appreciate their energy and wonderful help; and love hearing from them years later, about their successes, and many times, about businesses of their own.”
Bon Bons owners are members of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce and RCI; Retail Confectioners International, an organization that promotes the confectionery industry. Mary Alice has served on their Board of Trustees, and currently is a member of the Huntington Village Business Improvement District board. “We are both passionate about beautifying and maintaining the Village. From simply picking up trash, to planting flowers, to volunteering our time and resources—Huntington is a lovely town and we’d love to see it continue to evolve that way.”
Susannah and Mary Alice are both lifelong Huntington residents. Mary Alice still resides in the home her late husband’s grandfather built in 1927. She enjoys reading and taking trips with RCI. Susannah currently resides on charming Cannon Court in the Village. Susannah enjoys cooking, gardening and doing creative projects with her kids. She went to Walt Whitman High School and has a B.S. from Syracuse University. She is a proud, single Mom to Rudi and Josie Fasolino. Rudi graduated from Huntington in 2017, and Josie is currently in her senior year. From Southdown, to Woodhull to Finley to the HHS, Susannah and Bon Bons have happily supported the many school events, PTA, Arts in Education, Booster Club, SEPTA and of course, HFEE. “Huntington school district has a very caring, driven group of parental ‘powerhouses’ in HFEE, that fuel the extra wonderfulness of the district. I am happy to be a part of that.”
Susannah is also a member of the ‘Old Huntington Green’ preservation group, Cinema Arts Center, the Heckscher Museum, and the Huntington Historical Society. She served on the Historical Society’s Board of Trustees for six years, from 2009 to 2015. Bon Bons Chocolatier supports the Historical Society in many ways; with in-kind donations to their Apple festival and Garden tour and as a participant in their largest fundraiser, “An Evening of Wine Under the Stars” event. Her children, Rudi and Josie, have volunteered for many of their events.
In addition, Bon Bons Chocolatier supports a plethora of local organizations, other school districts and non for profits, including Huntington Hospital and Holiday House.
“We would like to thank our staff, customers, friends, doctors, teachers and the community for supporting our family and business. We are very grateful.”
–Susannah and Mary Alice Meinersman