Wichita’s oldest chocolate shop just got a new address
Wichita’s oldest chocolate shop has moved.
Cero’s Candies, which has operated at 3249 E. Douglas since 2013, has just relocated to the former Monica’s Bundt Cake spot at 1328 E. Douglas, next door to Abode Venue and a few doors down from The Spice Merchant.
Owner Betty Albrecht closed down the previous shop, which was in Happiness Plaza right next door to Dempsey’s Biscuit Co., at the end of March. Ever since, she’s been remodeling the Monica’s Bundt Cake space, vacated when its owners decided to move to shipping container mall Revolutsia.
Albrecht said she wanted to move the shop for several reasons. The new place gives her double the space for production and retail, she said, and the area has more foot traffic.
The new spot also has a ground-level entrance, which is important to her customers, she said. Cero’s previous space had stairs that led up to the front door.
“I watched elderly people pull in and pull right back out when they saw the stairs,” she said.
Albrecht is still in the process of moving things over to the new space but decided to go ahead and open on Monday. She doesn’t have a sign out front yet but hopes to get one soon.
She’s planning several new things for the shop. In addition to the chocolates Cero’s has always offered, Albrecht also plans to serve coffee. She’ll have Nitro Joe’s coffee, and her new neighbor, The Spice Merchant, is planning to work with her on a special Cero’s blend.
She also hopes to soon offer homemade ice cream, now that she has more space to stock it. This summer, she plans to add cookies and cupcakes to her list of offerings. She also wants to start offering classes and put on Final Friday events.
“I now feel like I can expand and have fun,” she said.
Albrecht bought Cero’s in 2015 from Pam Bishop and her daughter, Darcy Bishop, who had owned it since 2010.
“Candy Pete” Cero first opened the shop in at 900 E. Douglas in 1885. The Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas, which had bought the business from the Cero family in 2000, sold it to the Bishops 10 years later. They moved it from 1108 E. Douglas to 3249 E. Douglas in 2013.
Cero’s hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
.jpg)