In the mid-1940s, Joseph (Joe) Hawkins took a hiatus from his full-time postmaster job in Arizona, packed his family up, and moved to California to attend candy-making school. Making candy was his passion and gift, winning him multiple blue ribbons across the United States. But at the time, selling chocolates didn’t bring in enough money to pay the bills. Joe had to return to being a postmaster while still continuing to craft chocolate. Though he made chocolates for family and friends and won awards for his recipes, Joe wouldn’t get to see his dream of owning a chocolate shop become reality in his lifetime.
Becoming a Family Business
In 1988, John and Melody Boyster, great-grandchildren of Joe, moved from Arizona to the heart of the Ozarks. They decided to open up their own shop—Rosewood Farms Country Gifts, a mercantile gift store near Hartville. A couple of years later in 2000, they uncovered the treasured chocolate recipes of Joe, also known as “Grandpa Joe.” After a year of practicing crafting the chocolates, the family opened a second store, Grandpa Joe’s Old Fashioned Chocolates, which sells more than 120 varieties of chocolate treats.
Since the moment they opened their doors, the family has been greatly blessed by their community, according to Holly Boyster, great-granddaughter of Joe, who works at Rosewood Farms. “We’ve had people that have been coming in here since day one and are still continuing to come in,” Holly says. “And then we’ve had generations where it was the grandmother, and then the daughter, and now we see their babies. It’s kind of a family affair.”
What began solely as a gift and chocolate shop has grown into a 10,000-square-foot barn filled with a clothing boutique, coffee bar, bath and body products, and chocolate store. Customers can buy gift baskets filled with homemade goods, hot cocoa mixes, fudge, dip and dessert mixes, and more. Rosewood Farms is unique in that everything—all the way from the dip mixes to the chocolate bars—is made by hand on-site.
A Day at Rosewood
For the Boyster family, every day holds something new. Depending on what needs to be restocked in the shop, the family will plan accordingly, waking up early before customers arrive to make goods. “We’re always making chocolates in the morning,” Holly says. The family still uses Grandpa Joe’s techniques and award-winning chocolate recipe from the 1940s. After some early morning chocolate making, the family and staff run the store and make and restock inventory.
On other days, the family focuses more on their bath and body products, such as candles, lotions, room sprays, fragrance oils, and potpourri, which they create themselves. Recently, the family has started roasting their own coffee. They felt it necessary to create and roast their own coffee blend, honoring Grandpa Joe’s famous saying, “You got to have a good cup of coffee to keep you going through the chocolate making.”
When they’re not creating chocolate, baked goods, or bath products, the family can be found packaging dip mixes and soups for local restaurants and food trucks around Missouri. Some days won’t end until nine or ten o’clock at night for the family.
Despite the long hours and tremendous amount of work that goes into running the store, the Boyster family continues the legacy with joy. Holly is especially fond of interacting with their faithful customer base. “My favorite part of it all is helping everybody from day to day. I like helping the people that need it or the people that just need a hug. I feel like that’s what we’re here for,” Holly says. “I love making everything and doing all of that, yes, but I think the people and the interaction with them is the most special. We’re here for helping them.”
Holiday Season at the Farm
As the holiday season approaches at Rosewood, the Boyster family begins preparing for its annual open house, Rosewood Christmas in the Ozarks. Along with the usual spread of goodies and gift shop items, shoppers can enjoy classic Christmas music as they shop for Christmas gifts and walk among Christmas trees covered in ornaments.
“We close down the week before to get ready for Christmas in the Ozarks, because it is such a big to-do,” Holly says. “It is so much fun and will get you in the mood for Christmas.”
This year marks Rosewood’s 24th year of putting on the event, which will be held during November 4–9. Visitors can shop at Rosewood Farms year-round, 9 am–6 pm Mondays through Fridays or 9 am–4 pm on Saturdays.
For more information, visit GrandpaJoesChocolates.com. Visitors can stop by the store at 7345 Highway 5, Hartville.
Article originally published in the November/December 2024 issue of Missouri Life.
