NEWTON - A Dutch woman’s love for chocolate and for an American suitor laid the groundwork for a successful Sussex County business, “The Chocolaterie,”a European-style chocolate shop. It all began with an old-time, movie-like romance between an American in a foreign country on business and a beautiful Dutch native. They met and dated over chocolate, according to Annette van Loon, who owns the shop with her husband, Robert Ellsworth. They married, she moved to this country with him, and they now live in Vernon. While making trips back and forth to the Netherlands to visit family and friends, van Loon - a self proclaimed chocoholic - said she would bring back chocolate for herself. She grew up with Belgian chocolate; the chocolate here didn’t taste good to her. After awhile, people would ask van Loon to bring back chocolates for them as well. “It got to be that I was bringing back a whole suitcase of chocolate one time, and I said that’s it!” After talking it over with her husband, they decided to open their Chocolaterie shop on Spring Street in Newton. Almost two years has passed since it opened, and is has been met with great success. “We began with serving the town of Newton, but now we have joined the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce and serve the whole county,” she added. The shop carries not just Belgian, but also French, German and Swiss chocolates, as well as English teas, chocolate coffees and imported cocoa powder. All of the truffles are Belgian, and all the products are all natural - they even have a large vegan selection. Van Loon is very conscious of her consumers needs. She has a variety of sugar-free products. Along with the vegan and sugar-free chocolates, she now carries a selection of hollow chocolates that have been made in a peanut-free facility. Last Easter, a local mother bought one for her child who had never had a chocolate bunny before because of the peanut allergy. Van Loon likes to think of her shop as a chocolate superstore. Many people have walked in and said, “This is heaven!” The most popular items are dark chocolates, van Loon explains, as people now know its healthy for them. Among these are the Cote d’or Noir de Noir, a dark chocolate bar and Cote d’ors Noir Frambiose, a dark chocolate with Raspberry. The shop has something for almost everyone: from chocolate pretzels to truffles, gift baskets available to purchase and made to order, items to use as favors as well as corporate gifts with logos. Customers can get something from $5-$65 and everything in between. Last Father’s Day weekend, only a year and a half after opening the Spring Street shop in Newton, van Loon opened a second location is Nyack, N.Y., where two of her sisters-in-law live and help run the shop. It, too, is thriving, carrying the same line of products. “The Chocolaterie,” European chocolate shop, is open Tuesday through Saturday (seven days a week during the holiday season). The store is located at 205 Spring Street in Newton.