By DAVID BERTOLA
dbertola@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1621

What do you get when you cross a workaholic with a chocoholic?

Howard Cadmus, of course. He's part real estate attorney and part candy and ice cream guy.

While growing up in New York City, he worked at a number of candy and ice cream shops. Cadmus, who has practiced law since 2003, said he always wanted to open his own chocolate shop.

So last spring, when first-time homebuyers took advantage of tax credits - resulting in 16-hour workdays for Cadmus - he decided that as long as he was working long hours, he should be doing something fun. And chocolatey.

That's when he decided to put the wheels in motion to open his own shop.

It helped that his wife, Tara, who works for CitiGroup in Amherst, had studied chocolate-making in Paris. Last fall, they opened Oh Pour L'Amour du Chocolat at 4476 Main St., Snyder.

"When I pitched the idea of doing the shop, my chocolate budget for the firm - including gifts and business cards - was so extensive that I thought I could save money by opening my own shop," Cadmus said with a laugh.

The couple discussed their plan with family friend Deborah Hanny, who owned Sweet Jenny's, an ice cream shop down the road at 5732 Main St. in Williamsville. Hanny suggested they buy her place instead.

By February, Cadmus was running his law practice in Williamsville plus the two retail operations - all within a four-mile stretch of Main Street.

He still puts in 16-hour days, working at his solo practice and finishing the day, usually around midnight, at Oh Pour L'Amour du Chocolat, which translates to "Oh for the love of chocolate."

Inside, he shows off a table with a 1,000-pound marble top that cost $10,000 and wooden display cases that he and his wife custom designed - all to create the look and feel of an old-fashioned soda shop.

As one woman recently left the store, she recognized Cadmus as the owner and pulled him aside to thank him.

"See that?" he said. "That's the aspect of this that I like. I feel as if I'm making a difference for people, making them happy."

It may simply be that Cadmus has sugar running through his veins.

On his smart phone, he shared a black-and-white photo of his great-grandparents in the 1940s at the Brooklyn soda shop they ran.

He went on to discuss the effects of preservatives and how other ingredients affect the texture of chocolate.

He extols the power of butter fat and details the delicate process to chocolate- coat and decorate a pretzel rod or Oreo cookie.

He said many of the 1,000-plus ice cream flavors that have been available at Sweet Jenny's and Oh Pour L'Amour du Chocolat are recipes that he and Tara created.

"Life is good," he said, reflecting on a youth spent on welfare with his family.

"We ate Ramen Noodles, block cheese and powdered milk," he said.

In 10 years, he envisions himself working only at Sweet Jenny's and Oh Pour L'Amour du Chocolat.

Who knows? Eventually, he may even become known as the Willy Wonka of Western New York.