Stripes Wine Bar & Cafe

NYC’s Willy Wonka of Chocolate Is Bringing His New Brand To D.C. | Eater DC

"Inside the cacao-filled shop beneath New York City's Union Square Park, I sampled a “milkshake to die for” and saw Brenner's obsession with using every part of the cacao pod: he turns husks into flour for gluten-free cookies and folds cacao into challah French toast, edamame hummus bowls, energy shakes, cacao fruit sorbet sundaes, donuts dunked in fondue, and breakfast bowls made from the fruit's flesh. A nonalcoholic “fruit” beer is riffed with cacao syrup, and there are playful chocolate items like a chocolate “pizza” alongside non-cacao offerings such as croissants and eggplant tartines; chocolate-based cocktails are also planned for D.C. The D.C. rollout—headed by local investor Kanch Algama, who bought territory rights and plans 12 locations—will target 1,500–2,000 sq ft sites (first in Navy Yard or downtown), operate with no back-of-house kitchen (everything is done in front of house), and keep slightly earlier hours than New York’s late-night shop." - Tierney Plumb