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EDIBLE GUIDES: LOCAL RESOURCES

Chocolatiers Find New Homes in Grapevine

by Meda Kessler

Dr. Sue’s dark chocolate bark comes in a variety of flavor combinations including ginger-fig. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DR. SUE’S CHOCOLATE

The news is sweet for fans of Dr. Sue’s cranberry-orange chocolate bark and peppermint hot chocolate.

The physician-turned-chocolatier is back in business in a new location in downtown Grapevine. This past July, facing an untenable lease issue, Sue Williams closed her shop.

“I went part-time at work, too, so I used the opportunity to focus on reopening,” says Williams, who practices at a Dallas hospital. “The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau and the city were both very helpful in helping me find a new space, which will have a smaller retail space but a bigger kitchen.

It’s also suited to having classes.” The doctor has long been a proponent of healthy eating, and that includes sweets. She uses all-natural dark chocolate and ingredients with zero preservatives, artificial sweeteners or colors.

Rich truffles are rolled in nuts and cocoa powder.

Serendipitously, the new location is in the building where Williams opened her first chocolate shop in 2013. “This time, our entrance is on the south side of the building instead of north. Personally, I’m thrilled to be closer to Weinberger’s Deli,” she adds. “I love their food, and Dan [Weinberger] has long been a supporter of Dr. Sue’s, sending customers our way.”

(Author’s note: If you make a trip to Grapevine, Weinberger’s is the real deal with its Chicago-style subs and sandwiches.) Dr. Sue is famous for her bark—slabs of dark chocolate studded with nuts and dried fruits including citrus, ginger, fig, blueberry—along with the popular rosemary and olive oil meltaways and orangettes, candied citrus peel dipped in dark chocolate. Williams is also bringing back and expanding the hot chocolate bar, a must-do for Grapevine locals and visitors during the busy holiday season.

Kate Weiser’s Carl melts down into a drinkable hot chocolate. PHOTO COURTESY OF KATE WEISER CHOCOLATE

For Valentine’s Day, Williams is collaborating with her cousin, Fort Worth-based artist Allison Castillo, on custom packaging: “I have a lot of her art in my home,” she says. “Her heart motifs are perfect for decorative tins.”

Also open in downtown Grapevine is Kate Weiser Chocolate. The Dallas-based chocolatier takes over the space in a historic brick building that Dr. Sue vacated this past summer. Weiser, a native of Grapevine, had been looking for a popup location, but instead signed a five-year lease on the Main Street location. Known for her hand-printed bonbons, seasonal collections and Carl, the melting hot-chocolate snowman, Weiser has two retail spots in Dallas and one in Fort Worth. The Grapevine location includes a hot chocolate bar, allowing customers to see Carl in action.