A fire at Sarris Candies, a Pennsylvania candy factory, destroyed nearly 20,000 lbs. of chocolate and has forced the retail store and ice cream store to close, the Washington Post reports.

However, the company continues to operate through other retailers and online and an update to the company website on Tuesday says production has resumed for Valentine’s Day candy.

“We are back in production making our Chocolate Cordial Strawberries and shipping this week to guarantee delivery for Valentine’s Day,” says Bill Sarris on the website. “Internet orders will ship and those too will be delivered in time for Valentine’s Day.”

There are still some hiccups though.

“Due to some electrical issues, some of our equipment is not functioning and we are not able to make our chocolate favors and novelties,” says Sarris. “We should have this equipment up and running by the end of the week.”

WTAE reports that the fire, which started on the morning of Feb. 3, caused minimal structural damage at the Sarris Candies factory, but ruined the chocolate in the second floor packing area above the ice cream shop. The smoke also caused damage to the retail store and the ice cream shop.

Management had hoped to reopen the retail store within a matter of weeks and the ice cream store in a month, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that it will take at least a month to reopen the retail location and even longer for the ice cream store.

Sarris Candies, a family chocolate business founded by Frank Sarris in the 1960s, still is accepting orders online and in more than 830 retail locations throughout Western Pennsylvania, parts of Ohio and West Virginia.

For more information about Sarris, visit www.sarriscandies.com.

- M.K.