Final answer:
Ruth Wakefield is credited with inventing the chocolate chip cookie, but she did not open a chocolate chippery in 1977; the actual person or entity that did is not listed among the given options.
Step-by-step explanation:
Chocolate Chippery:
The answer to the question about who opened the first chocolate chippery in Palo Alto in 1977 is A) Ruth Wakefield. Ruth Wakefield was the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie, having originally developed it during the 1930s. Although she did not open a chocolate chippery in 1977, her invention laid the foundation for such establishments to exist.
In 1977, it was an entrepreneur other than Wakefield, Hershey, Ghirardelli, or Nestlé that likely opened a specialty store selling chocolate chip cookies. The concept of the chocolate chip cookie indeed became a cornerstone of American confectionery businesses, thanks to Wakefield's culinary innovation, but she did not establish a store in 1977 as the question implies.