The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has announced a $5 million gift from Forrest E. Mars, Jr., the retired CEO of Mars Incorporated, and his wife, Deborah Clarke Mars, to support the reconstruction of a mid-eighteenth-century coffeehouse on its original foundations — the first complete reconstruction of a building in Colonial Williamsburg in fifty years.

The project will incorporate the building's original foundations — laid in 1765 by Richard Charlton, a Williamsburg wigmaker — and replace later brickwork with newly laid foundations with the goal of reconstructing the original structure to the degree that historical, archaeological, and architectural evidence permits. When completed, the coffeehouse will give visitors the opportunity to enjoy hot tea, coffee, chocolate, and pastries in an authentic colonial setting.

Longtime donors to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Forrest and Deborah Mars also head the advisory board of the Colonial Chocolate Society, an informal organization made up of representatives from Mars Inc., which is still family-owned and includes the chocolate brands Milky Way, Snickers, Mars Bars, and M&Ms; the University of California, Davis; Colonial Williamsburg; and other living history museums — all interested in the research, interpretation, and presentation of historical chocolate-making.

"Reconstructing Charlton's Coffeehouse...will constitute a major architectural and educational contribution to the Historic Area," said Colonial Williamsburg president and CEO Colin G. Campbell. "We anticipate that the project will be of great interest to guests, scholars, artisans, and other observers."