Dot Ave. cheers new café

The new Coco Leaf Dessert Café has re-opened after closing for a week to refine the menu. Coco Leaf celebrated its ribbon cutting last week, launching the Asian-French twist coffee shop in Fields Corner.

Coco Leaf specializes in Vietnamese dessert puddings and soups called Ché, savory and sweet crepes, and seasonal pastries. Classically trained chef Peter Om and co-founder Eric Ly have been working toward the shop’s opening for about a year.

Fields Corner Civic Association members unanimously approved the proposal for the cafe at 1480 Dorchester Ave. in September 2016. Open starting at 6 a.m. each day, Coco Leaf offers a unique combination of Parisian pastries and mungbean-based Vietnamese sweets, along with a coffee, smoothie, and bubble tea bar.

Ly said in a statement that Coco Leaf was partially financed through a $132,500 SBA Community Advantage loan from mission-based lender, Accion.

“We had found the perfect space in the heart of Dorchester,” Ly said. “However, it took more capital than we anticipated to finish the renovations and open the store.”

Two days after their packed grand opening on Feb. 2, the Coco Leaf team announced on Facebook that they would close for a week and re-open on Feb. 10. “We will be doing extensive training, implementing changes to our desserts, and opening with a more concise menu,” the post read. “We feel that we’ve let the community down and need to perform better.”

They thanked the community for its patience. Online reviews of the cafe are generally positive.


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