Kakao Chocolate's Pelletier is Profiled in Local Foodie Magazine

A new Maplewood favorite, , is getting plenty of recognition these days.

Kakao owner, Brian Pelletier, was invited by Feast Magazine to sit in on a group of St. Louis food entrepreneurs to talk about the business of selling good, innovative food.

“It was a representation of people who are out there doing some really interesting, forward-thinking things with and about food in St. Louis,” Pelletier told Patch. “What I was struck with was how dedicated that whole group was to the idea of better food in St. Louis.”

Also at the table were:

• Stanley Browne, owner of Robust Wine Bar
• Maddie Earnest, co-owner of Local Harvest Grocery
• Gerald Craft, owner of Craft Restaurants Ltd.
• Tom Neimeier, owner of SPACE Architecture + Design
• David Wolfe, co-founder of Urban Chestnut Brewing Co.
• Josh Ferguson, co-owner of Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co.
• John Perkins, chef and owner of entre

Kakao has been in Maplewood about a year, but it’s Pelletier’s second location. His first Kakao has been on South Jefferson about three and a half years. He doesn’t seem surprised by the success of his Maplewood location.

“That was part of our reason for coming to Maplewood,” he said. “We knew that it would be an opportunity for us to reach out to more people.”

Pelletier also got his own full-page profile in the issue.

Kakao Chocolate is open 10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon–5 p.m. on Sunday. It’s at 7272 Manchester Road.