Wine Party, HallPass Updates, and LOCOCO’s Lux Vanilla Launch

An afternoon of 40+ natural wines, gourmet bites, and live tunes sets the stage for HallPass openings at The Gateway and LOCOCO’s debut of Lux Vanilla cocoa.

Ted Scheffler

August 22, 2025

Sugar House Wine Party Returns

The Sugar House Wine Party is back, returning to Tea Zaanti on Saturday, September 20, 2025 from 3 PM to 6 PM and featuring 40+ natural and organic wines, tunes, food and friends. Not to mention gourmet hot dogs and ice cream from Happy Camper Dogs & Cones.

Tickets start at $50.

HallPass Updates & Openings

There are new ways to enjoy HallPass at The Gateway, including sips, bites and good times at Happy Taps, where you’ll find a formidable selection of cold brews both on tap and in cans and bottles, as well as cocktails such as the Courtside Colada, Cinna’ Bees, and Gimme Cucumber.

Also new to HallPass is HallPatisserie, where you’ll find flaky croissants, rich eclairs, a big selection of desserts, hot and cold drinks including fresh made lattes and much more – an inviting cafe at The Gateway.

LOCOCO Launches Lux Vanilla

Park City-based LOCOCO, the award-winning premium cocoa brand, launched its newest flavor, Lux Vanilla, on August 13th. Crafted in collaboration with chocolatier and Executive Pastry Chef Romie Fisher of Montage Deer Valley, this new blend brings together refined flavor, nourishing ingredients, and a touch of Utah heritage.

“We wanted to offer something for the cocoa lovers that are used to that softer sweetness enjoyed when biting into a fresh chocolate chip cookie,” says founder Anna Bloom. “It’s going back to hot chocolate roots with a twist—low in sugar, dairy free and with the power of balancing adaptogens from functional mushrooms.”

According to LOCOCO, “Lux Vanilla is a velvety, mellow cocoa infused with real vanilla, salt from central Utah, and functional mushrooms for body and mind balance.The flavor was developed with Fisher, Executive Pastry Chef at Montage Deer Valley, who holds a degree in nutrition and brings over a decade of experience as a chocolatier.”

“Collaborating on Lux Vanilla was an inspiring journey,” says Fisher. “We reimagined a classic cocoa by balancing indulgence with health-forward ingredients, elevating every sip with a touch of real salt and adaptogens.”

LOCOCO’s Original Spice formula was named a top ‘best’ cocoa by Food & Wine in a taste test. Bloom wanted to partner with Fisher to continue to meet a high bar when it comes to taste.

“We struck gold with our first formula which was exciting and also meant we had a lot to live up to with our second flavor,” Bloom says. “I’ve been working with Romie over the last few years on this and I believe we’ve come close or even bested our first attempt.”

events, Food & Drink, Foodie Events, Utah Bites

Ted Scheffler

Originally trained as an anthropologist, Ted Scheffler is a seasoned food, wine, and travel writer based in Utah. He loves cooking, skiing, music, and reading, and spends an inordinate amount of time tending to his ever-growing herd of guitars and amplifiers. Ted is also the author of the Utah Bites newsletter, which is published in partnership with Utah Stories. Before moving to Utah, Ted lived in New York City, and numerous states in the US, as well as in various countries overseas, Spain, Japan, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico. He earned a Master’s Degree in Anthropology from the Graduate Faculty of The New School for Social Research.