Chocolate, jewelry and wine are among the quintessential romantic gifts — and all can be found from local businesses for a unique gift.  

Chocolaterie Stam is built on a family’s philosophy of life, business and fresh chocolates.

The creator of Chocolaterie Stam is Ton Stam, grandson of Jacobus Stam. Ton brought his family recipes and values to America.

After becoming disillusioned with working in a financial management company, Ton saw a trend for buying higher-end, gourmet foods. He wrote to his family in Europe and asked them to send him recipes. He first began producing chocolates in his home and the business has grown to 10 stores across the Midwest. 

The Ames location was the first franchise of the business to be owned by a non-family member. Terry and Anne Stark joined the Chocolaterie Stam family in November 2006. They are firm believers in the Stam family philosophy of treating their customers and other owners as family. The philosophy involves acting like a family and treating customers like family. This, Stam owners believe, makes their business stand above the rest.

Every Chocolaterie Stam follows this philosophy of a family environment with friendly employees and fresh chocolates, but each Stam store has its own flair. The Ames location has a unique setup to mimic a home.

“We wanted to set it up like our home; you’ll see a living room, a dining room and an area with rocking chairs and photos,” Terry Stark said.

Customers feel at home as they shop and enjoy chocolates, gelato or a cup of coffee.

Terry and Anne are both ISU alums and love when students come into the shop. The Starks believe that downtown is a great place for students to be and they encourage all students to come and check out the area.

“We’ve been here five-and-a-half years. I just love this downtown. Everybody works together and supports each other. Everybody realizes that if we do well, everybody does well,” Stark said.

Another business on Main Street is Ames Silversmithing. Gary Youngberg started making jewelry while in college. He spent one year at Iowa and another at Iowa State. Youngberg sold his jewelry to friends, family and at local art shows. After saving enough money, he dropped out of Iowa State and opened Ames Silversmithing in 1976.

Four expansions and 36 years later, Ames Silversmithing has become an anchor of downtown Ames.

“We have not only survived for 36 years, but thrived for 36 years,” said Kyle Youngberg, manager of Ames Silversmithing and son of Gary Youngberg.

National name brand stores do not offer the same product as Ames Silversmithing.

“Uniqueness is why people come to Ames Silversmithing. If somebody wants something that’s theirs and theirs alone, we can create that for them. It’s the niche we have carved out,” Youngberg said.

Aside from the unique products and experience local businesses offer, supporting them is important to the success of the city.

“I’d rather support my neighbors, my friends, my colleagues. Supporting local businesses is essential to the success of the town. Shopping local is extremely important,” Youngberg said.

Many ISU students go to Ames Silversmithing for special occasion gifts such as engagement rings or Valentine’s Day. The shop offers options for all budgets.

“We have price points of items that range from $40 to thousands of dollars,” Youngberg said.

A few miles north of Ames, Prairie Moon Winery & Vineyards offers an 18-acre vineyard and winery that produces wines from locally grown grapes. The winery’s goal is to provide fine wines to Iowans that are produced in Iowa. 

“We buy from local grape growers and honey producers. Anything we can buy locally, we’ll buy,” said Matt Nissen, manager of Prairie Moon Winery and Vineyards.

Prairie Moon Wines can be found all across Iowa in various retail stores. In downtown Ames, you can find the wines at Chocolaterie Stam and Wheatsfield.

Prairie Moon also participates in local events like the downtown Farmers Market and Art Walks.