Thanin Viriyaki
Sugary drinks and treats at Con Azucar Cafe
A family of six — parents and their kids ranging in age from tots to phone-waving teens — gathers around the concha the way people do a birthday cake after the candles are blown out, each grabbing a generous hunk of the pink-frosted Mexican pastry. Oddly enough, there’s still a lot left over, a lot; more than plenty for a round of seconds.
These, clearly, are no ordinary conchas, nor is the place that serves them your everyday cafe. Newly opened on Fort Worth’s North Side, Con Azucar Cafe is a small, family-run coffee and pastry shop specializing in Mexican-inspired coffee drinks — and conchas as big as babies.
“They’re at least 14 inches in diameter and weigh about three pounds,” says Demian Sanchez, son of owner Samantha Sanchez. “We went through three batches of prototypes. The bakers, at first, didn’t understand why we wanted them so big. But finally, they got it. They understood what we’re trying to do here.”
Delivered fresh daily by a local Mexican bakery, the conchas are intentionally oversized and meant to be shared — a physical expression, Demian Sanchez says, of the cafe’s community-first approach. The snug, colorfully decorated space is run almost entirely by the Sanchez family. From sunup to sundown, mom, dad, and son are behind the counter, serving whimsical Mexican coffee drinks rarely seen in Fort Worth’s coffee scene — and serving them to a different kind of customer.
Thanin Viriyaki
Demian Sanchez and one big concha
Con Azucar is a deliberate departure from Fort Worth’s coffeehouse norms. You won’t find tables overtaken by headphone-wearing doom-scrollers. Rather, the room stays lively and social, designed for families, kids, and chatty teens. Music is upbeat, flowers line the walls (and ceiling!), and there’s a big swing for selfies. It’s something you may have never thought you’d experience at a coffeehouse: fun.
All of it revolves around the cafe’s signature item: the concha, a traditional Mexican sweet bread whose name comes from its shell-like pattern baked into the sugary topping. Soft, lightly sweet, conchas are a staple of panaderias throughout Mexico and Mexican-American communities. At Con Azucar, they’re ginormous, meant to be torn into together.
“People just go crazy for them,” Samantha says. “We do have regular-sized conchas, too, but if you’re here with your friends or your family, they’re the perfect thing to share.”
Along with conchas, the cafe serves drinks and bites that lean into tradition while still feeling playful. Café de olla, a spiced Mexican coffee brewed with cinnamon and piloncillo, anchors the drink list, offering a warm, aromatic alternative to standard drip coffee. Espresso drinks are available, too, including lattes flavored with horchata, mazapan, and Duvalin — familiar Mexican sweets transformed into creamy, dessert-like drinks. The cafe’s name translates to “coffee with sugar” for a reason.
For those looking beyond pastries, the cafe also serves tortas, traditional Mexican sandwiches built on a soft, crusty rolls and filled with meats, beans, cheese, and fresh toppings. And for customers with a sweet tooth, there’s a dessert that feels destined for social media fame: a concha sliced and filled with ice cream and drizzled with cajeta and chocolate syrup.
Thanin Viriyaki
Con Azucar Cafe began three years ago in San Jose, California, founded by brothers Victor and Alex Garcia along with partners Alexandria Gonzales and Uriel Valdivias, who set out to bring Mexican coffee culture to a broader audience. What started as a neighborhood cafe quickly grew into a national brand now franchising across the country. The Sanchez’s location is the first in Texas.
“Their mission really resonated with me,” Samantha says. “Any time that I, as a business owner, can do something that shines a positive light on Mexican culture, I want to do it.”
By trade an SMU-educated economist, Sanchez has spent her adult life doing just that, involving herself — and her family — in various businesses that promote Mexican culture. Born in Monterey, Mexico, she moved to Dallas with her family at a young age. Following her time at SMU, she and her husband — sometimes with Demian by their sides — embarked on numerous business endeavors, the most successful of which has been a talent booking company responsible for bringing major Mexican music acts through North Texas.
That job, and others before it, required her to travel, which is how she got the idea to open a coffeehouse.
“As an economist, I’m always thinking about business, and I travel a lot,” Sanchez says. “On my travels, one thing I noticed is that coffee is everywhere. No matter where you go, there’s a coffee shop. Coffee is universal — you remember the smells, you remember the taste of your favorite coffee at your favorite coffeehouse.”
The roughly 2,000-square-foot building that houses Con Azucar has a story of its own. Built in 1955, it has served as a car lot and a bar over the decades. Today, it’s owned by Juan Rodriguez, the well-known Fort Worth chef who, with his wife Paige, runs the popular North Side pop-up dinner club Magdalena’s.
The couple purchased the property in 2023 with plans to open their own concept, a wine and tapas bar called La Coqueta. Before it opened, however, Juan accepted what he calls a dream job with Westland Hospitality, the local restaurant group behind the revivals of Pulido’s and Margie’s Italian Gardens. With the building’s future suddenly uncertain, Sanchez stepped in with her proposal — and Rodriguez, impressed by her vision and commitment, agreed to lease her the space.
“Juan helped us every step of the way,” Samantha says. “He helped us build out the patio. He offered advice and guidance. This is our first restaurant, so we needed as much help as we could get.”
Before opening the doors, the Sanchezes and their staff trained under the brand’s exacting standards, learning everything from the use of high-end coffee equipment to the precise recipes behind each drink — and, of course, how and where to find the larger-than-life conchas that anchor the cafe.
“Coffee is an art, it’s delicate, it’s precise, it’s all of these things,” Samantha says. “But there’s more to a coffeehouse than just good coffee. You want to feel welcome. I want people to walk in here and instantly feel connected to everyone around them. To me, that’s what a coffeehouse should be about.”
Con Azucar Cafe, 1216 N. Main St., instagram.com/conazucarcafe
