Socola Chocolatier
Chocolate shop · Rincon Hill ·
Chic confectioner with unique Vietnamese-inspired chocolates
Chic confectioner with unique Vietnamese-inspired chocolates
"Wendy and Susan Lieu set up shop in SoMa in 2014. Their confections rely on local Guittard chocolate and Straus dairy, feature many Vietnamese flavors, and come in minty fresh boxes stamped with a super cute alpaca. As a woman of color-owned outfit, running the business has been a point of pride and exploration for the Santa Rosa-raised sisters." - Becky Duffett
"Wendy Lieu from Socola Chocolatier, which she and her sister have run since 2001, can relate to feeling like the cards are stacked against her as a woman entrepreneur." - Paolo Bicchieri
"Started by sisters Wendy and Susan Lieu in 2001, Socola Chocolatier began at a Santa Rosa farmers market outside the family nail salon when Wendy was 19 and Susan was 16, and the duo felt they had to prove themselves in an industry that was mostly male and white. I note that the Vietnamese name prompted questions from curious customers, and Wendy turned early obstacles into an advantage by embracing less-common flavors—asking why Vietnamese coffee, guava, or durian couldn’t be chocolate flavors—and she expresses pride at seeing more representation from women and people of color in the industry over the last two decades." - Paolo Bicchieri
"In 2006, Daniel Korson was experimenting in a tiny San Francisco apartment kitchen above Alamo Square Park. He was fascinated with chocolate and sweets that were stripped down to the essentials: scraped cacao, all organic, just the plants and pods. He had no idea at the time that his tinkering would eventually become Coracao Chocolate, the plant-based chocolate company he still runs today and one of the pioneers of the growing vegan chocolate market in the Bay Area." - Paolo Bicchieri
"Eating a Sriracha-flavored chocolate on a sunny afternoon in Golden Gate Park is, to me, a singularly San Francisco experience. The sisters behind SoMa’s Socola Chocolatier, Wendy and Susan Lieu, continue to bridge the gap between what has historically been considered high-end cuisine and the flavors they hold near and dear to their hearts. In this collection there is also a slightly savory pho-flavored chocolate, plus varieties infused with durian and Vietnamese coffee. The Sriracha chocolate, with a flake of chili on top, invoked the right kind of dissonance, giving my brain a delicious “a-ha” moment somewhere between sweet and savory." - Eater Staff