This massive concha-and-coffee combo went viral. Does it live up to the hype? Try it in Phoenix
The holiday season has arrived in Phoenix and with it, the honest-to-goodness need to sit down with a nice cup of coffee while munching on one of Mexico's most decadent pastries: a concha.
Cocina Adamex, located off Seventh Avenue and Taylor Street in downtown Phoenix, aims to satisfy that craving by offering customers a concha and coffee combo. The kicker? They're both extra large.
With a 10-inch diameter, the concha can serve a minimum of 10 people and the coffee cup can be filled with that same amount of cups, making this combo the perfect order to share.
And with Instagram reels and TikTok videos making the rounds, this restaurant has been seeing a flurry of new customers since it started selling the larger-than-life Mexican sweet bread. According to the owners, they've become so popular that from Thursday to Sunday the bakers make up to 40 extra-large conchas daily.
And they have social media to thank for that. Here's how the concha became a viral sensation and how you can get your own for the holidays.
An XL concha and coffee, please
Cocina Adamex, formerly Azteca Kitchen & Bakery, opened its doors on July 15, 2022. Its new owners, Adriana Zapata and Alberto Sanchez, were looking to increase their clientele by trying new ideas — none of them successful.
After a year, Zapata figured hiring a person to focus solely on their social media presence would help. It did more than help. It made a name for them.
After heading to Mexico and purchasing an extra large coffee mug, Zapata's social media manager asked her to make an extra large concha to accompany the mug.
"She told me to make her a big concha so she could make a reel. So, she brought the cup, we made the concha and she posted the video on September 23,” Zapata recalled.
The next day, while on vacation in Mexico, Zapata received a call from Arizona-based foodie and influence Chelsey Hauston, who had seen the reel and wanted to make her own. On Sept. 24, @letmeeatthis posted the video showcasing the massive conchas, coffee and pan de muerto sold at Cocina Adamex. To date, that reel has over 71,000 likes.
On Sept. 25, Zapata and her family were greeted by a crowd outside their business before they were even open, all wanting to get their own mega concha.
From contractors to restauranteurs
Before owning Cocina Adamex, Zapata and her husband, Sanchez, worked in construction. That's how they met the Lopez family, former owners of Azteca Kitchen & Bakery, who hired them to do renovations at the restaurant.
Zapata and Sanchez worked day and night, weekends and holidays to get the renovation work done by the end of 2019. As the pandemic hit and Azteca continued to stay in business, the relationship between the Lopez family and Zapata and her husband continued.
Come 2022, as small businesses could no longer recover from the economic devastation caused by the pandemic, the owners were looking to sell.
One day, while Sánchez was making repairs inside the restaurant, he overheard a conversation between the owner and a potential buyer, who shared that they wanted to change the restaurant entirely, knocking down walls and demolishing the work that Zapata and Sanchez had done.
"Everything that (the owners) had fixed, they wanted to undo … it was very difficult for (the owners) — what their parents did, all the efforts to do the renovation, their employees who were like his family — it hurt them a lot that they had to sell,” Zapata said.
When the potential buyer left, the owners approached Sánchez and offered him the restaurant.
“The owners told him, 'Oh Alberto, I don't know, why don't you keep the restaurant?' and my husband said, 'Yes, I'll take it' … That was in April 2022 and in July we were already here as owners of the restaurant,” Zapata said.
They decided to name it Cocina Adamex as a tribute to Yolanda Adame, Zapata's mother-in-law, who died in January 2022.
"We named the restaurant Adamex as a tribute to her and to indicate that we are originally from Mexico," Zapata said.
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Employees and clients are family
For Zapata, family is important. That's why employees and customers are treated like family, especially because they were their biggest help when acquiring the place.
Leaning on those who had been with the former owners for years was their best decision, Zapata said.
“(The employees) support us so much, because everything they do is to improve the business … they have been here for many years and they don't want to leave. The cook has been here for 24 years. The lady who makes the tortillas started here when she was 28 years old and she has been working here for about 40 years. Another cook has been working here for 30 years,” Zapata listed off.
While ownership and name changed, the concept, tradition and history of the restaurant remained, according to Zapata, given the customers who have enjoyed their dishes for decades. Menu item also remained, some of them including specials named after loyal customers.
Like Walter's Special, a burrito with egg, bacon, potatoes and cheese, or Mauro's Special, also a burrito but with chicken or beef, potatoes, beans and rice.
Certain dishes were named this way by clients who were regulars with their parents since they were little and who, to this day, still celebrate birthdays, Mother's Day and other special events at Cocina Adamex, Zapata said.
XL conchas, candy canes for the holidays
Along with the extra large concha and coffee orders, Cocina Adamex is offering candy cane shaped conchas and the traditional Rosca de Reyes, or Three Kings Cake, for the holiday season.
The price for the extra large candy canes, conchas and roscas is $19. The extra large coffee costs $24 and an extra large hot chocolate costs $34. The order must be placed at least a day in advance.
Orders can be placed in person, by phone at 602-253-5864 or by text at 623-920-6247.
Details: Adamex Kitchen, 416 N. Seventh Ave., Phoenix. Open Monday to Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. 602-253-5864. https://cocinaadamex.com/
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: XL concha goes viral on TikTok and Instagram. How to try it