Still mourning the loss of Choxotica. Perhaps you read about this unique shop but didn’t get a chance to visit. Eric Green’s chocolate boutique, Choxotica, was in business in North Tampa for just under two years: from October of 2007 until August 2009. I drove by it twice a day for that entire time and stopped often. They should have had a “frequent buyer” program.
Neon lights and the mist from cascading water beckoned you. Chocolate bars from white to extremely dark (97% cacao!) were displayed along the wall and about ten more bars were lined up on the counter with tiny wrapped samples. Chocolate-themed programs played on the large flatscreens in the “showroom” and the lounge in the back.
The chocolate drinks were out of this world. Chocolate was mixed with Thai coconut, ancho chili pepper, cardamom and cinnamon to name a few. If you bought a chocolate bar like Vosges Mo’s Bacon Bar (an acquired taste for some) it was wrapped in chocolate brown tissue paper and placed in festive purple bags.
There were attempts to expand a mail-order business and further attempts to relocate the shop to International Plaza, which fell through.
Truly mournful is the owner’s personal story, which I never knew until the ‘farewell’ email arrived in my inbox. Eric Green and his wife had embarked on a weight loss program and were helped by making dark chocolate part of their regimen. Tragically, Eric’s wife, Stacey Green, passed away suddenly just a few short months after the shop opened. I did not have the pleasure of knowing her, but she is missed.
I still drive by what is now an expanded Suncove Realty office and stare at it wistfully, missing my favorite store.
This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2010.