Rocky Mountain Chocolate raises $2M loan, sells Durango site for $6.6M
What's the deal? Rocky Mountain Chocolate FactoryDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has secured a $2 million term loan from Alpine BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and completed a $6.6 million sale-leaseback of its Durango, Colorado headquarters, the company disclosed in an October 19, 2026 filing. The loan funded in full on October 16 and is earmarked for working capital.
The fine print: The Alpine loan matures in October 2028 and carries interest at the JP Morgan ChaseDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → prime rate plus 1%, with a 6% floor. The company paid a $20,000 origination fee and a $30,000 cash collateral fee to the Colorado Housing and Finance AuthorityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? The two moves clean up a stretched balance sheet. Proceeds from the property sale repaid roughly $6.6 million of principal and accrued interest on notes carrying 12% interest, while the Alpine loan — priced far lower — provides fresh liquidity.
What could go wrong? The debt relief carries a long-term cost. Rocky Mountain Chocolate will lease back the Durango site for 10 years, starting at $624,000 in annual rent with 2% yearly increases. The buyer, American Heritage Legacies, is "a company controlled by the family of Allen Harper, the company's interim chief executive officer" — making it a related-party deal.
The context: The refinancing lands as the company weighs strategic alternatives, including a possible sale or merger, and after it reported a wider quarterly loss of $1.3 million on revenue of $6.7 million.
The signal: This is balance-sheet repair, not a growth raise. For a small-cap chocolate maker under financial strain, swapping 12% debt for a cheaper bank loan and a sale-leaseback buys time — but locks in a decade of rent and ties liquidity to an insider transaction while the board shops for a buyer.
Read more: kalkine.com, Business Insider
Image credit: m01229
