Ackermans Chocolates shop on Goldhurst Terrace closed after 50 years

The former chocolate shop at 9 Goldhurst Terrace, off Finchley Road in Golders Green, is no longer open, leaving a gap in the local retail landscape. Residents who once queued for handmade sweets now find only a residential building where the shop once stood, as reported by the Times Series.

Founding by refugee entrepreneurs

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Werner Ackerman, a German lawyer, and his wife Lotte, a trained pianist, fled Nazi Germany in the mid‑1930s. After a year of training in a Berlin restaurant owned by the Kempinski family, they arrived in London and began making chocolate in a Hampstead flat. Their first dedicated shop opened on Kensington Church Street in 1952, and a second outlet was established on Goldhurst Terrace in 1956, according to the Ham & High.

Royal patronage and public profile

Princess Alexandra first introduced the brand to the royal household, followed by Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, who became regular customers. The Ackermans were granted a Royal Warrant in 1968, permitting the use of the royal crest on packaging, as noted by the Harrow Times.

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“"Chocolate assortments would be hand‑delivered to both Kensington Palace and Clarence House on request and as a result, the Ackermans were awarded the Royal Warrant in 1968."”

Nicholas Rose, grandson

Later years, a royal visit and closure

In the 1990s the business changed hands, first to Swiss patissier Werner Krattiger and later to Charbonnel et Walker, which kept the Ackermans name for a period. The future King Charles visited the Selfridges Food Hall concession in 1996, after which the company secured a contract to supply his Duchy Originals mint thins, according to the Times Series. Following the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, the Royal Warrant was withdrawn and the Goldhurst Terrace shop eventually disappeared, with the sign rescued by the founder’s grandson and now displayed in a private kitchen.

No formal plan exists to revive the Ackermans brand in Golders Green. The family’s descendants keep the memory alive through personal memorabilia, while the former shop site remains a residential property. Residents interested in the legacy can view the salvaged sign at the Rose family kitchen.