Monsoon Chocolate to close Cafe + Market on Feb. 15, focus on factory

Monsoon Chocolate announced in an Instagram post Wednesday morning that it will close its Cafe + Market location after service on Feb. 15. The owners said the decision to close the Cafe + Market came after careful consideration. However, they emphasized that Monsoon Chocolate is not going out of business; the chocolate company will continue operating at its original factory location at 234 E. 22nd St.

The post reads:

Our final day of cafe service will be February 15.

After a lot of careful consideration, we’ve made the decision to close the Cafe + Market.

To be very clear: Monsoon Chocolate is not closing. The company will continue operating, with production and local sales centered at our 22nd Street factory.

This cafe has been an important part of our story, and we’re deeply grateful for the community, conversations, and care that have filled this space over the years. We’ll be open through Valentine’s Day and would love to see you during these final weeks.

More details soon, and thank you for being part of this chapter. 🤍

Local Roots and Recognition

Founder Adam Krantz opened Monsoon Chocolate in 2017 as Tucson’s first bean-to-bar chocolate producer. Co-owner and head chocolatier Athene Kline later joined him in expanding the business. In June 2023, Monsoon Chocolate relocated its cafe to a larger space at the Copenhagen Plaza on Fort Lowell Road. It served craft espresso drinks, hot chocolates and house-made pastries alongside the brand’s award-winning bonbons and confections.

Over the years, Monsoon Chocolate has gained national acclaim for its sweet creations. The company won multiple Good Food Awards, including honors in both the chocolate and confections categories in 2024. Its Sonoran Sea Salt Dark Chocolate bar and a tequila-orange infused bonbon each earned top recognition. Monsoon Chocolate also took home a Good Food Award in 2021 — that early win helped put Arizona’s bean-to-bar scene on the map.

Original Factory Store Continues

Meanwhile, Monsoon Chocolate’s production kitchen and factory store at 234 E. 22nd Street will remain open to the public. The Instagram announcement made clear that only the cafe location is closing — Monsoon’s core business of making chocolate will carry on. Fans can still purchase the company’s artisan chocolate bars and signature geometric bonbons directly from the original factory location, which has anchored Monsoon’s operations since its inception.

Additionally, Monsoon Chocolate plans to keep supplying its wholesale partners around Tucson with confections. This ensures local retailers remain stocked with Monsoon products.

For more information, visit monsoonchocolate.com.

(Editor’s note: shortly after finishing writing the article above, Monsoon Chocolate also released a press statement. Read it in full below.)

After nearly three years of operation, Monsoon Chocolate will close its Cafe + Market location at the end of February 2026. The company will continue producing chocolate and serving customers from its factory and retail location on East 22nd Street, where Monsoon Chocolate was originally built. 

This decision comes after more than a year of unprecedented pressure on small, values-driven food businesses in the United States. Historic increases in global cocoa prices, combined with a deeply hostile economic environment for independent manufacturers and foodservice operators, have made it increasingly difficult for businesses like Monsoon to operate sustainably. 

The Cafe + Market opened in 2023 as an expansion of Monsoon Chocolate’s hospitality efforts, allowing the company to serve a broader audience in a new neighborhood and explore a more public, daily expression of its work. While the team is proud of what was built there, the current economic landscape has made it clear that continuing to operate a full service cafe is no longer viable without compromising the long term health of the company. 

“We are closing the Cafe + Market, but Monsoon Chocolate is not closing. Our work continues from our factory on 22nd Street, where we will focus on what we do best,” said founder Adam Krantz. “I am deeply proud of what the cafe allowed us to create, and grateful to the community that supported it.” 

Founded in 2017, Monsoon Chocolate has earned national and international recognition for its work in craft chocolate, helping change how the food world talks about chocolate in the American Southwest. The company has received multiple Good Food Awards and International Chocolate Awards, and has been recognized for pioneering new techniques, flavor approaches, and collaborations rooted in place. 

Monsoon Chocolate will continue producing chocolate, fulfilling online orders, and operating its factory retail store on East 22nd Street. Customers can continue to purchase chocolate directly from the factory, online, and through select wholesale partners. 

The company plans to use the coming weeks to celebrate the Cafe + Market, honor the work that was done there, and share one final Valentine’s season with the Tucson community before closing the doors after February 15th. 

“This decision reflects the reality facing many independent businesses right now,” Krantz said. “Rising costs, instability, and policy choices are narrowing the space for work rooted in craft and

values. Monsoon will continue operating from our factory on 22nd Street, but this moment should give us pause about what kinds of businesses our economy still makes room for.” 

For updates, hours, and information about factory retail operations, visit monsoonchocolate.com or follow @monsoonchocolate. 

Contact: 

hello@monsoonchocolate.com