Husband and wife bring Dominican roots to Cacao chocolate shop in Boston's South End
BOSTON - Sugar and spice and a whole lot of love make up the recipe for success at Cacao in Boston's South End.
Perla Rosario and Leo Baez are the husband-and-wife behind the chocolate shop on Columbus Avenue. Both have roots in the Dominican Republic and grew up with a deep appreciation for their heritage.
"A lot of people know the rice and beans and stuff like that. This is a different way of getting to know what else the Dominican Republic has to offer through chocolate, through the cashew," Rosario told WBZ-TV.
It was a match made in confectionary heaven long before they even met. Baez grew up climbing cashew trees on his walks home from school, getting the juice from the fruit on his clothes in the process.
"I grew up eating the cashew fruit, roasting it. I've always had a special bond with it," Baez told WBZ.
Rosario grew up visiting her father's 150-acre Cacao farm during summer breaks.
"One of my fondest memories was just visiting my dad's side of the family, visiting where he's from, from Puerto Plata. There are just cacao trees literally on the streets and in their backyard," she said.
"Community spot"
In 2018, the couple opened their first shop in Jamaica Plain, which has since closed. Their second location is in Newton, and their newest venture is a cafe-style spot in the South End.
"It's a community spot for people to gather. Have a coffee. Have a latte. Have a hot chocolate," Rosario said.
That hot chocolate has been named one of Boston's Best. It's made using a blend of high-quality couverture chocolate and a dash of cinnamon.
"A Dominican hot chocolate is typically made with water because there's less resources in the Dominican Republic. So not a lot of people have money for milk and things like that. So, it's made with water, and it's spiced with warm spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, things like that," Rosario told WBZ.
Family affair
Cacao is now a full-on family affair, with the couple's oldest daughter already working behind the counter, perfecting her chocolate-making skills.
"We want to keep our culture. It's very important to us. That's what it's all about. Yes, we live here, but we want to have a piece of our country with us all the time. My daughter and my son have both kind of grown up in the shop," Baez said.
"Little by little, we've seen the store itself evolve. Even our relationship, it continues to evolve together with the store and with cacao," Rosario told WBZ.
