PHOTOGRAPHY BY TERESA RAFFIDI
Dude, Sweet Chocolate creates new magic—and memories—in a 100-year-old house
The century-old house, freshly painted in a velvety shade of garnet red, sits regally at the corner of Eighth Street and Bishop Avenue, the epicenter of Dallas’ Bishop Arts District. The old, two-story dame is a vision of warmth, the belle of the block and the new home of Dude, Sweet Chocolate.
“I jumped at the chance to move here when I heard it was available,” says Dude, Sweet’s founder Katherine Clapner, who relishes this grander, more prime location after nearly 15 years on a quiet stretch of Eighth, outside the parade of foot traffic.
Clapner, a superstar in the galaxy of Texas chocolatiers, has been selling her handcrafted creations in the neighborhood since 2009 and though she’s opened numerous outposts over the years, her heart has always remained in Bishop Arts.
“Our original location served us well,” says Clapner, “but we needed new energy. It was time for a change.”
She didn’t have to go far to find it. She’d been eyeing the faded Victorian beauty down the street for years. Though she knew it needed lots of TLC, she nabbed it in June—just as the lease on her old store was ending—and quickly instigated a Kickstarter campaign to fund renovations.
“The turnaround was insane,” says Clapner. “There was so much to do.”
By July, they were in, but, as with most old houses, the new store has been a work in progress. During our interview in the days leading up to Halloween, Clapner whirled from task to task—one minute sanding an upstairs baseboard, the next minute directing staff or painters while cradling her phone as she tracked down a patron’s lost shipment. Clapner is a firm believer in making change happen, even when it doesn’t come easily.
She orchestrated the structure’s makeover, peeling back the layers of old wallpaper and paint. The exterior, once a faded blue, now glistens in a richer coat. The dining room, which will be used for small tastings, has been transformed with chic botanical wallpaper and a chandelier. Up the staircase, a rentable apartment awaits chocolate lovers who want an Airbnb smack-dab in the middle of an artsy neighborhood.
Under towering shade trees, the landscaping has been replanted. Umbrellaed tables and a comfy front porch glider invite guests to linger outdoors after perusing Dude, Sweet’s array of bars, toffees, fudges, truffles, spreads and potions. When it’s cold outside, the new firepit will be the place to enjoy s’mores and steaming mugs of drinking chocolate. In the summer, sidewalk strollers can sidle up to the kitchen window to purchase slushies and snow cones. Already the Dude, Sweet yard has become a neighborhood gathering spot.
“What a difference a block makes,” says store manager Eddie Murphy, a 13-year staff member, as he welcomes customers and eyes the busy comings and goings on the corner. Murphy, who’s wellknown for his hip-hop radio show on KNON, curates Dude, Sweet’s outdoor tunes, a joyful mix that adds to the buzz.
He is among Clapner’s crew of eight, many of whom have been with her for years. Also minding the store are Nick Munoz, Nathan Torres and Vanessa Rinconez.
General manager Steven Turner provides the calm center to Clapner’s energetic swirl. “He balances me,” says Clapner. “He picks up everything I drop.”
Turner likes the sense of community that comes with holding a small business together. “Compared to past corporate jobs, I get fulfilled here,” he says. “I feel like I have a soul.”
Along with the rest, Turner seems to appreciate the imaginative leaps and edgy vibe that sets Dude, Sweet— and Clapner—apart.
Even in the kitchen, Clapner believes in living in the moment. “There are wonderful recipes that I’ve done and will never do again. To me, there’s beauty in creating something that will never be replicated. Chocolates are a moment in time.”
Helping her create those moments are Carlos Ramirez and Gladys Morales, the husbandand- wife team at the helm of the off-site Dude, Sweet kitchen. After more than a decade with Clapner, they have a keen sense of her expectations and sensibilities.
“In the kitchen, they are my everything,” Clapner says, explaining how the duo’s taste buds are in sync with hers. “I devise the recipe, and they know exactly what I’m going for when they set out to make it. When Carlos goes to buy chocolate, he knows what we need.”
A classically trained pastry chef, Clapner studied at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, New York, and has worked in some of the world’s most prestigious kitchens: the Savoy Hotel in London, the Four Seasons and Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, the Windsor Court in New Orleans and 10 years with local celebrity chef Stephan Pyles in Dallas.
Clapner’s path to specializing in chocolates began in 2008 when she agreed to create a unique Christmas gifts for the clients of an acquaintance, Redding May, an executive with Merrill Lynch. He was so impressed with the results that he became an investor and was instrumental in helping Clapner launch her business.
Fifteen years later, the gift boxes continue. This year’s themed offering, “Holidays with the Griswolds,” contains myriad delights with movie-inspired names like “We Should Have Gone to Hawaii,” “Jelly of the Month Club” and “Thanks, Cousin Eddie.”
When pressed to divulge their favorite chocolate, everyone on the team has a hard time choosing just one. Morales selects the Pony Boy Golden Milk Chocolate Bar, a blond buttery concoction with toasted quinoa and hints of cardamom, curry, turmeric and cloves. It’s a melty mouthful. Turner deems it to be one of their healthiest bars.
Ramirez chooses the Flower Child Truffle, a craggy chocolate orb with notes of jasmine, orange and bergamot. Clapner agrees, but then there’s the logshaped chocolate “salami” with marzipan, figs and Medjool dates or Fungus Amongus Soft Butter Toffee with cordyceps mushrooms and pumpkin seeds.
Clapner loves including the handiwork of other smallbatch food artisans in her ingredients. She adds Angel’s Envy Rye Whiskey to her The Envy of all Fudge, and French Roast from Noble Coyote to her Hanoi Fudge. Her Black Mole Chocolate Toffee melds South American dark chocolate with a smokey mole made in-house by Ramirez and Morales. Eschewing refined sugar, Clapner opts instead to sweeten with pure cane sugar, Steen’s Cane Syrup or honey.
Only a few selections, like Chubby Nuts, a confection of candied salty nuts wrapped in chocolate, stay on the menu forever. “It drives some customers crazy when I don’t agree to make something again. Sometimes I can’t even remember exactly what I did,” she says. “Not everything has to be done over and over.”
Living in the moment, Clapner would much prefer to create something new.
336 W. Eighth St.
Dallas
dudesweetchocolate.com
As a kid, TERRI TAYLOR refused to eat her vegetables. Her veggie-phobia was cured in 1977 when she spent eight months working on farms in Norway and France. She studied journalism at UT-Austin and received a master’s degree in liberal arts from SMU. Her short story “Virginia” can be found in Solamente en San Miguel, an anthology celebrating the magical Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende. She has written for Edible DFW since its inaugural issue in 2009. She became the magazine’s editor in 2010 and is the editor of Edible Dallas & Fort Worth: The Cookbook.
