Stuffed conchas, gansito lattes and croissant sandwiches at new Puyallup café
Yonilda Morales wasn’t looking to open a café. She was already busy working full-time as a bookkeeper for WinCo Foods and helping manage the family food truck, Chicanos, which opened in 2022 after a long search for a location where they could park every day. They finally found it next door to Puyallup’s City Hall, behind the Shell gas station on the corner of South Meridian and 4th Avenue.
Last year, Jackie Kaelin, the owner of Elements cafe in Puyallup, floated the idea of Morales and her husband Seferino Amaral turning the cafe into their own restaurant, but the kitchen couldn’t support what Chicanos cooks at its commissary and on the truck. When Kaelin mentioned it again, Morales and Amaral decided to “just go for it.”
“Was it fate?” asked Morales as we talked at the new-this-summer Dulce Cafe across from Pioneer Park. “I would have never in my life have thought I would have had a café.”
Right away, she wanted to specialize in at least three things: fun drinks, conchas and croissant sandwiches.
Dulce brews Caffe d’Arte beans, freshly ground, into Latin-themed signature drinks including a mazapán latte powered by De La Rosa’s peanut candy. The sweet treat is crushed into the bottom of the cup and sprinkled atop the finishing touch of fluffy sweet vanilla cream.
The gansito latte likewise takes inspiration from the Mexican strawberries-and-cream snack cake, with a little cube of the cake served with the drink. Using the food truck’s recipe, the horchata latte (iced only) lends a creamy cinnamon kick. Flavor add-ins stick to the spiced and nutty side — brown sugar cinnamon, hazelnut, macadamia nut, salted caramel — and alternative milks include almond, oat, soy and coconut. There’s also a green, red and white fresa matcha.
For the conchas and other Mexican pastries, Morales found a reliable source at Surtidoras Bakery in Tacoma and Auburn. A friend encouraged her to try stuffed conchas, a photogenic trending treat that was news to Morales. Dulce’s version packs Nutella, sliced strawberries and whipped cream into a pretty pink strawberry concha — best enjoyed with a fork and knife, but no shame if you want to pick it up with your hands! You can also snack on a mini concha à la carte or add a “concha topper” to any drink.
Morales, who was raised in California, fondly recalled a Cuban bakery with croissant sandwiches. Her menu at Dulce prominently features a few such savory items, including one with turkey, bacon, spring mix and avocado.
Also on the menu are generous cups of fresas con crema, topped with your choice of crunchy granola, lots of mazapán or gansito.
“I was nervous,” said Morales. “How’s the community gonna respond to a Latino-owned cafe? I wanted it to be approachable,” she added, with a menu and ambiance that felt personal but “comfortable for everybody.”
Her heritage is Guatemalan, while her husband’s is Mexican. He worked in Mexican restaurants in the area before they opened Chicanos — named after the term of endearment used by Mexican Americans since the 1960s. Morales’ family moved to Pierce County when she was in middle school. Then with Amaral, the couple have raised their four children here, who play important roles in the family businesses. Their sons, Eduardo and Emilio Amaral, usually work on the truck with their dad; their daughter Brianna is in the café, while the other daughter works at a local optometry office.
Morales plans to add a few more Latin-inspired touches: more Mexican sandwiches, chilaquiles, sweet-corn tamales and café de olla. Amid rising very early in the morning for her office job, she’s perfecting her recipe for the spiced hot coffee with piloncillo and other spices.
Dulce Cafe opened June 30, but on Saturday, Aug. 2, the family will host a grand opening in the form of a “caféton,” a lively celebration in which fans descend upon a café to drink coffee, take shots of espresso and bounce to reggaeton and Latin beats — in this case from Seattle-based DJ Brayner.
Dulce Cafe - Puyallup
- 333 S. Meridian, Puyallup, instagram.com/dulcecafeofficial
- Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
- Details: coffee shop with Latin-inspired drinks, pastries including stuffed conchas and mini concha toppers, plus sandwiches
Chicanos Mexican Food
- 347 S. Meridian (back of Shell gas station), Puyallup, 253-886-2287, instagram.com/chicanosmexicanfood
- Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
- Details: Mexican food truck known for street tacos, quesabirria and Hot Cheetos California burrito
This story was originally published July 31, 2025 at 11:49 AM.