Much like the chocolates he makes, Joe Suhrada, owner of Uncle Sam’s All American Chocolate Factory, felt that it was time his business changed its flavor, which is why he decided to open a second location in Latham. “The last two years, I’ve been looking into moving. Newton Plaza, in particular. It’s a shopper’s destination with a lot of nice shops. Being next to Hoffman’s Playland doesn’t hurt. I know it moved, but people still know the area,” said Suhrada. Uncle Sam’s moved into Newton Plaza, at 594 New Loudon Rd., earlier this month and opened its doors on Wednesday, Oct. 15. The shop’s grand opening will happen on Thursday, Oct. 30, when Suhrada invites customers to come and celebrate with chocolate covered strawberries and caramel apples from 2 to 4 p.m. while supplies last. The hours for Uncle Sam’s remain the same. Both the Newton Plaza and Schenectady locations are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Suhrada has been owner of Uncle Sam’s since 1992, making him the third owner of the local upstate New York chocolate shop since it was founded in 1930. “After 20-plus years in Schenectady, we felt we needed to expand. Customers had to travel far. This location is more customer-centric,” Suhrada said of his new shop in Latham. With the new location came new flavors for customers to try, too. Uncle Sam’s will now serve chocolate-covered fruits, as the Latham store has a refrigerated case. One of the new flavors is limoncello truffle, which Suhrada described as a lemon brandy flavor with a white chocolate center. Rum and candy cane truffles will be introduced, as well. New flavors of caramel include Jack Daniels and pumpkin spice. Customers can expect to continue to see favorites like nut bark, almond butter crunch and dark chocolate sea salted caramel, although Suhrada said the rum truffle is now among his favorites. In addition for the new location, Suhrada also bought Chocolate Gecko, another local chocolate shop, and is selling the brand in the Newton Plaza store. “I didn’t want to see the brand go extinct,” said Suhrada. “We’re doing the same recipe, same Belgian chocolate. I love the kind of spicy southwestern kick.” To accommodate all of the new additions to the Uncle Sam’s brand, the Latham shop is much bigger than the Schenectady location at 2571 Albany St., so customers, Suhrada said, may just be a little overwhelmed at the choices they’re faced with. “A lot of folks, if they haven’t been here, really don’t know how much we have,” said Suhrada. “There’s no comparison in the area in having this vast of an assortment,” said the Newton Plaza shop’s manager, Mike Martoccio. “There are chocolate molds for every day, every birthday, everything.”