A player who was drafted to the Edmonton Football Team in 2019 has set up roots in the city and opened up a specialty chocolate and coffee shop.
Diego Viamontes moved up north from Mexico City in November 2019 to join the EE Football team as a wide receiver, and just under one year later, he opened up ch. cafeteria in west Edmonton.
“For people to try out the best quality chocolate, obviously with our Mexican background,” Viamontes said.
Viamontes and his wife Sara Rangel — who moved to Canada shortly after he did — teamed up with chocolatier Nadia Andrade and her husband Victor — also Mexican expats.
Viamontes knew Victor from when they both lived in Mexico City, and the two families became business partners to open ch. cafeteria.
“People from Mexico City are called Chilangos, so that starts with a ‘ch,'” Viamontes said. “We sell chocolate… so we were thinking out loud, and we reduced it to ‘ch.”
Viamontes said the idea came to him after he and his wife, Sara Rangel, realized how much they enjoyed visiting local shops and “figured we should start something ourselves.”
“We like to use the best quality chocolate, give people sort of a gourmet experience,” he said.
Ch. cafeteria also uses homemade chocolate in its café drinks, like hot chocolates and mochas.
“The original use for the cocoa beans for Spanish culture was drinks,” Viamontes said. “I think the chocolate drinks, mixed with the coffee we use, is amazing.”
Viamontes added that some EE Football fans have visited his shop to show their support.
“That makes me so happy that they go there with their team gear,” he said. “That has been pretty good.”
Ch. Cafeteria is located at 14802 Stony Plain Road in west Edmonton.
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