CLEVELAND — Malley's Chocolates is one of Cleveland's most iconic brands, and now, Adele Malley — the former CEO and longtime voice of the company — has a new book out called "Conversations with Adele" designed to help other young entrepreneurs struggling to grow their business.
In the latest installment of our "Reset" series, Adele tells 3News anchor Christi Paul how those lessons are all rooted her in own early life experiences.
"I was a fortunate, typical child [with] good parents and [a] good neighborhood, and everything was super," Adele recalled.
She says her childhood was a typical and happy one — but one day, everything changed.
"I just turned 12 and I was in the sixth grade, and one day the knock came at the door and there was the priest standing outside," Malley remembered. "And I was sent out to see him and he told me my father just died."
Losing a parent is more than just a life change; it becomes about survival. Malley says she learned that from watching her mother, who figured out how to take care of Adele and her five siblings on her own.
"She was left with $7,000 in the bank and a big loan because my father bought his business, and they were only in business for about 15 years," Adele said. "So she was 35 years old with four teenage boys and two girls just about stepping into the magic years, and she'd be crying at the kitchen sink. We all had to help with the dishes, but she was usually the washer, and we could see she's just exhausted and every day isn't going to be a sunshiny day, and we learned a lot like that from her."
Adele learned that every day may not be happy, but every day is still valuable.
"[My mother would] come home every night and tell us what went on that day at the store," she explained. "We were in the meat business, and I could just see her growing and then starting to laugh about things some months later."
Malley watched her mother's desperation transform into success, which served her well when she met the love of her life years later and wasn't just welcomed into his family but into their family business, one that eventually grew into the chocolate company we all know and love.
“Mom and dad — Malley — they were the most generous, open people. They valued everybody," Adele said. "They'd stay open at night until the last streetcar went by. They knew every night they had to do everything they could to get enough in that register every day to pay what they needed, their bills paid at the end of the month. So they knew hardship."
Drawing inspiration from her own mom, Adele went on to her own mark at Malley's, becoming company president in 1997 and inspiring a new generation along the way.
"I really learned so much from her and took that over into what we did here, and that influenced how I looked at things and how to design the boxes and how to pick the colors," Adele told us. "And how to talk to people that work with you that are all upset about something and how to calm them down and find out how we can find the right answer for this."
Malley says her mother also taught her the importance of being kind to everyone, and to find a job for everyone.
"That came from my mother — the kindness and thinking, 'Here's somebody that needs some help.' I think we get all of that," she said. "We don't realize, 'Oh, my mother did this big thing.' It's the everyday little things that make you be aware of other people."
Looking back, Adele says she's happy she always shared her feelings with her mom.
"I applaud her, and I'm glad I told her before she died. She knew it for years before, but when she did die, I didn't have to run in and tell her something she knew."
It's those lessons Malley hopes readers will take away from reading her book.
"I hope that they become inspired that this gal did it," she noted. "I hope that if somebody has fallen off the track [who] has wanted so much to be successful and things weren't working out, and it's getting worse and worse and worse, [don't] be afraid to ask somebody. I have found that people love to help other people ... and all of us are going to fall off the track for a little bit."
Malley's Chocolates is hosting a book signing and free chocolate sampling event to celebrate Adele's new book, "Conversations with Adele," on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at Malley's Chocolates HQ at 12300 Brookpark Road in Cleveland from 4:30-6 p.m.