Blige — who brought her Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit to New York for the first time in May —spoke about the event at the Empire State Building.
“I’m really excited to be here with Ghirardelli today for this amazing opening and ribbon cutting of their store in New York,” she said. “It’s no secret that I’m a chocolate lover. I love chocolate. I love ice cream. Every now and then, I’ll have sundaes and all that stuff like that. But maybe now more often I’ll have more sundaes and more chocolate because they will be Ghirardelli in New York City. My favorite Ghirardelli candy is the squares with the caramel. They’re delicious. They melt in your mouth. So, now we have one in NYC — and now we can all get fat together.”
Those in attendance laughed at her joke.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people began lining up before 10 a.m. for the noon ribbon-cutting ceremony at the store, which is located at 16 W. 34th St. Fans and chocolate enthusiasts alike lined up down 34th Street to Fifth Avenue, then lined down Fifth Avenue to 33rd Street.
The first 102 fans in line each received a free Ghirardelli world-famous hot fudge sundae. The number 102 was chosen to match the number of floors in the Empire State Building. All those in line were able to purchase $5 mini sundaes in celebration of the opening.
