Sunday, March 28, 2010

A Sweet and Jazzy Night Out

As if enjoying chocolate and wine isn’t good enough – throw in a little jazz and you have the perfect night out. That is what the after dinner scene is like at Cocoa Dolce on Thursdays. Roberto Bernardinello plays every Thursday night from 7 to 9 p.m. He always brings a fellow musician to entertain the crowd. If you haven’t been – it’s definitely worth making plans. Jazz at Cocoa Dolce makes a great date night, relaxing night out with the girls, or a fun place to unwind with co-workers. We do take reservations – so if you have a big crowd, call us ahead to make sure we have seats!



Tuesday, March 23, 2010


We recently had a special visitor in from Washington, D.C.  Ian Wagreich, the Chief Photographer with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, came to interview Beth.  Let's back track a couple days.  Beth comes running in the door one day and says "You gotta listen to this e-mail I just got".  It was from our contact at the U.S. Chamber who had helped us submit our application.  The e-mail basically said that they had chosen a few businesses to feature during the summit in May.  No word was spoken regarding being a finalist.  We didn't want to "jump the gun" and assume anything, so we took this as a great honor and gladly accepted an interview.  *** Ian comes in and gets everything set up.  During a busy afternoon, with lots of customers coming and going, Beth proceeds with an interview and photo session.  



We all tried to listen for subtle "finalist" hints...but, nothing came!  Beth, Amber and I  planned a dinner at Chester's Chophouse as a thank you to Ian for coming out.  We were hoping he would spill the beans while we were there.  We all shared stories of trips, family, embarrassing moments, etc.  It was a great dinner.  Amber brought up the subject of Ian needing to travel a lot for his job.  She asked if he was visiting all 75 Blue Ribbon finalists or "perhaps just 7?"  With a smile on his face, Ian said: You know you're a Regional Finalist, right?  After our celebratory cocktail  and the knowledge that we were a finalist, we were all "happy campers" for the rest of the evening!!
...And that's the Sweet Stuff!!

Friday, March 19, 2010

St. Patty's Beer Tasting

We just had a beer tasting this past Wednesday on St. Patty's Day. Ryan Cochrin (Jacob's Liquor) and Beth did a great job "wining and dining" our 24 guests decked in green. The beer list included a range of 6 Irish beers, my favorite being the Harp Lager which happened to be paired with one of my favorite chocolates- the Irish Cream. With such great feedback from this crowd and previous beer tastings, Beth has decided to have a regular Beer Tasting Night at Cocoa Dolce every second Wednesday of every month- changing up the theme every time so if you're not on our email list, make sure you sign up so you can get the insider information about our fun events.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Amazing!


Okay...sorry for the sporadic blogging...collectively, the Cocoa Dolce team agrees to improve by inviting guest bloggers to assist me in my task. Today, I want to let all of our six followers know that we have been named as one of 7 Regional Finalists for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year! Check out this link for more details:


In addition to making a trip to Washington, D.C. in May, where the winner will be announced at a luncheon May 8th, we get to display this cool sticker you see above! And if we are really lucky (and today we do have the luck of the Irish with us!), we will be chosen winner and receive a $10,000 check from Sam's Club, one of the sponsors of the competition.

Not only is this thrilling for my husband, Jay and I, it's a fantastic honor for our business, staff and for the City of Wichita. We are thrilled to represent the mid-west in D.C.

So that's what happened this week. I do have another little surprise up my sleeve, so stay tuned. Until next time...live your passions!