[5] At about the age of twenty, in 1838, he moved to Uruguay, then in 1838 to Lima, Peru, where he established a confectionery, and began using the Spanish equivalent of his Italian name, Domingo.

In 1849 he moved to California on the recommendation of his former neighbor, James Lick, who had brought 600 pounds of chocolate with him to San Francisco in 1848.

Caught up in the California Gold Rush, he opened his first store in a mining camp to sell sweets and treats to miners who were lacking the small pleasures of life.

[6] Ghirardelli spent a few months in the gold fields near Sonora and Jamestown, before becoming a merchant in Hornitos, California.

[12] He and Carmen had seven children: Virginia (1847–1867);[b][13] Domenico Jr. (1849–1932);[14] Joseph Nicholas (1852–1906);[15] Elvira (1856–1908);[16] Louis (1857–1902);[17] Angela (1859–1936);[18] and Eugene Gustave (1860–?).