CocoAndré Chocolatier and Horchateria is pouring drinks and molding chocolate again at a new address in Oak Cliff, opening its doors at 423 Centre St. with soft opening hours this month. The shop is running Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. while it eases into the new space, with a full grand opening planned for the end of September.
The soft launch marks the latest chapter for a business that has moved around Oak Cliff more than once in its 17-year history. As reported by Oak Cliff Advocate, the new Centre Street storefront is now serving specialty drinks, matchas, coffees, horchata, handcrafted chocolate, truffles and art, with regular hours expected to begin in fall 2026.
From a Recession-Era Startup to a Neighborhood Fixture
CocoAndré's story began in 2009, when mother-daughter duo Andrea Pedraza and Cindy Pedraza launched the business with less than $1,000 in capital after both were unexpectedly laid off during the 2008–2009 recession, according to PeopleFund. Andrea brought 25 years of master chocolatier experience to the venture, while Cindy contributed business management skills honed in the construction industry, per the same account. Andrea, who began working at a Dallas European chocolate shop in 1985, is recognized as the first Latina chocolatier in Dallas, according to CBS DFW, and her recipes blend European truffle-making techniques with Mesoamerican cacao traditions and Mexican flavor profiles.
That fusion shows up directly in the shop's ingredients. CocoAndré imports cocoa beans directly from the Mexican state of Chiapas to craft sweets infused with regional flavors like café con leche, canelitas, mezcal and tequila, CBS DFW reports.
A Pandemic Pivot Reshaped the Menu and the Name
The business added horchata to its identity, and its name, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, with public pop-up events canceled, CocoAndré officially became CocoAndré Chocolatier & Horchateria after introducing a line of house-made dairy-free horchatas, according to the Oak Cliff Advocate's earlier reporting. That horchata menu grew to feature more than five dairy-free flavors, including matcha, pecan, prickly pear, fresa and cacao, the outlet noted at the time.
Years on Seventh Street, Then a Planned Transition
Before landing on Centre Street, CocoAndré operated out of a historic home at 508 W. Seventh St. in Bishop Arts starting in 2014, serving as a neighborhood anchor for nearly a decade, according to WFAA. The Seventh Street casita hosted neighborhood markets and community gatherings before it was placed up for sale.
In September 2023, CocoAndré announced plans to close that longtime storefront as part of a planned transition allowing Andrea Pedraza, who was 50 when she co-founded the shop in 2009, to prepare for retirement while Cindy Pedraza expanded wholesale distribution and cacao education, per the Dallas Morning News. During the retail transition in 2024 and into 2026, CocoAndré kept a presence in the neighborhood by retailing its chocolate bars and molded sweets inside Olmo Market in Elmwood while preparing the new Centre Street space, the Oak Cliff Advocate reported.
National Recognition and a Role as Community Incubator
CocoAndré's reach has extended well beyond Oak Cliff over the years. The business was selected for the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program and PeopleFund, culminating in the co-founders speaking on stage at the White House United State of Women Summit in June 2016, a summit focused on economic empowerment and capital access for women entrepreneurs. D Magazine named CocoAndré the Best Chocolatier in Dallas again in 2024, citing its artisanal confections and culturally rooted flavor combinations.
Beyond its own sales, CocoAndré has functioned as a community incubator, holding monthly pop-up artisan markets at its shop to support emerging local BIPOC and women entrepreneurs, per CBS DFW. Those markets gave makers who lacked their own brick-and-mortar storefronts a physical space to sell their goods.
Hoodline previously included CocoAndré among Dallas's top vegan spots back when the shop was still at its Seventh Street address, a reflection of how long the chocolatier has held a place in the city's dessert scene. With soft opening hours now underway on Centre Street and a grand opening set for late September, that place in Oak Cliff's food landscape looks set to continue.
