Rey Amargo
{{Short description|Chocolate company}}
{{Infobox company
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| logo = Rey Amargo logo.png
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| image = January 2023, Seattle, Washington, U.S. - 175.jpg
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| image_caption = The Seattle shop's interior in 2023
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| website = {{URL|reyamargo.us}}
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Rey Amargo is a chocolate company and chain of cafes.{{Cite web |last=Romero |first=Salvador |date=2021-11-09 |title=Chocolate Rey Amargo, historia y origen en Jalisco |url=https://www.milenio.com/estilo/gastronomia/chocolate-rey-amargo-historia-origen-jalisco |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Grupo Milenio |language=es-MX}}{{Cite web |date=2011-09-27 |title=Chocolate especial, directo de Ciudad Guzmán |url=https://www.informador.mx/Deportes/Chocolate-especial-directo-de-Ciudad-Guzman-20110927-0184.html |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=El Informador |language=es-MX}} The business was established in the Mexican state of Jalisco.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-04-29 |title=A not too bitter end — Capitol Hill Mexican chocolate shop Rey Amargo is the latest E Pike food and drink closure |url=https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2025/04/a-not-too-bitter-end-capitol-hill-mexican-chocolate-shop-rey-amargo-is-the-latest-e-pike-food-and-drink-closure/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Capitol Hill Seattle Blog |language=en-US}} The first cafe opened near Guadalajara in 2001 and several locations in Mexico followed.
Rey Amargo's first cafe in the U.S. opened in Seattle in 2021. The Seattle location closed permanently in April 2025.
Description
File:January 2023, Seattle, Washington, U.S. - 174.jpg
Rey Amargo, which means "king of bitter", focuses on chocolate-based drinks, including a hot chocolate made with hot water instead of milk. The cafe in Seattle served chocolate bars and stone ground chocolates, coffee beans and fruit covered in chocolate, milkshakes, and sandwiches.
The Seattle location served approximately one dozen hot and cold drinks with chocolate.{{Cite news |last=Wegner |first=Helena |date=December 21, 2022 |title=These two Washington spots are among the best in US for hot chocolate, Yelp says |url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/state/washington/article270260612.html |work=The News Tribune}} Hot chocolates used stone-ground chocolates ranging from 32 to 72 percent cacao.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-10 |title=Make your own stone-ground hot chocolate — and be prepared to whisk |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/make-your-own-stone-ground-hot-chocolate-and-be-prepared-to-whisk/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120102932/https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/make-your-own-stone-ground-hot-chocolate-and-be-prepared-to-whisk/ |url-status=live }} "The Royal" used chocolate with 50 percent cocoa. Three varieties of hot chocolate were made using Mexican recipes and ingredients like coffee, roasted corn, and spices. The Seattle location also had three European varieties and a South American variety with medium-sweet chocolate that was served with square pieces of Monterey Jack. Marshmallows and vanilla syrup could also be added to hot chocolates.
The Seattle shop also served baked goods such as vanilla conchas from pop-up bakery Bakescapade.
History
Carlos Rios opened his first shop near Guadalajara, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, in 2009. Since then, six additional shops opened in Mexico. Rios and Valeria Calles opened the first shop in the U.S. on East Pike Street on Seattle's Capitol Hill in January 2021.{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-01-29 |title=The ‘King of Bitter,’ Rey Amargo’s sweet new E Pike shop brings 82 years of Mexican chocolate flavor to E Pike |url=https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2021/01/the-king-of-bitter-rey-amargos-sweet-new-e-pike-shop-brings-82-years-of-mexican-chocolate-flavor-to-e-pike/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Capitol Hill Seattle Blog |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206002817/https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2021/01/the-king-of-bitter-rey-amargos-sweet-new-e-pike-shop-brings-82-years-of-mexican-chocolate-flavor-to-e-pike/ |url-status=live }} The opening was delayed by the arrival and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite news |title=This Newsstand Shows Why Urban Neighborhoods Will Bounce Back |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-13/small-business-in-seattle-shows-urban-neighborhoods-will-recover-after-covid |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514093819/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-13/small-business-in-seattle-shows-urban-neighborhoods-will-recover-after-covid |archive-date=2021-05-14 |access-date=2025-04-30 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en |url-status=live }} The Seattle location closed permanently in April 2025.{{Cite web |last=Cheadle |first=Harry |date=2025-04-30 |title=The Restaurants That Said Goodbye to Seattle in April 2025 |url=https://seattle.eater.com/2025/4/30/24421033/restaurant-closures-seattle-april-2025 |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Eater Seattle |language=en}}
Rios is the chief executive officer of the retail shops. He managed the Capitol Hill location and his family operates the chocolate factory in Mexico.
Reception
In 2022, Rey Amargo ranked number four in Yelp's list of the top 20 hot chocolate establishments in the U.S.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-20 |title=Utah shop ranked among nation’s best for hot chocolate |url=https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2022-12-20/utah-shop-ranked-among-nations-best-for-hot-chocolate |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Utah Public Radio |language=en |archive-date=2024-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110125913/https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2022-12-20/utah-shop-ranked-among-nations-best-for-hot-chocolate |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |date=2022-12-12 |title=Top 25 places for hot chocolate across the U.S. and Canada |url=https://blog.yelp.com/community/top-25-places-for-hot-chocolate-across-the-u-s-and-canada/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Yelp}}
References
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External links
{{Commons category|Rey Amargo}}
- {{Official website|https://www.reyamargo.us}}
{{Capitol Hill, Seattle}}