Rizek Cacao, a chocolate grower, processor and exporter, was founded in the Dominican Republic in 1905 and is now being run by the fifth generation of the Rizek family. The company owns 25 farms on the island and contract with another 2,500 small farmers to whom they provide technical support through a nonprofit organization. It processes cacao and sells wholesale to other chocolate companies. In 2007, it began making bars for the consumer market, sold only in the Dominican Republic, and now it has opened its first boutique abroad. At the shop and cafe in Brooklyn chocolate for cooks, finished bars, other ingredients, and some baked goods are sold, though Nadia Rizek, a family member, said the main purpose of the store was education. Soon the cafe expects to start roasting cacao on the premises.
Kahkow, 97 North 10th Street (Berry Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-387-1238, kahkow.com.
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