New shop serving boba tea, rolled ice cream to open soon in Five Points
A well-known Taiwanese tea vendor is making its way to Five Points in Columbia.
The international Gong Cha tea brand, which got its start in 2006 before becoming a worldwide franchise, will be setting up shop in a previously empty retail space in Columbia’s downtown Five Points neighborhood behind Groucho’s Deli, the Post and Courier reported Wednesday afternoon. An official opening date has yet to be announced, but owner and general contractor David Tran said renovations started the weekend of Aug. 7.
“We’re thinking it’s going to be two months before we’ll be opened up down there at Five Points,” Tran said.
Tran, who grew up in Columbia, has lived all over the world and now lives in Charlotte, and decided to embark on this journey when he noticed the area was a “market that hasn’t been reached by any bubble milk tea companies.”
“I think one in Five Points near the campus would do really well,” Tran said. “We’re planning on having little study pods for students to study and a little collaboration corner for students to get together and do their work.”
When deciding on a tea franchise, Tran said he liked that Gong Cha’s shipping process came directly from Taiwan into Atlanta before being distributed to the stores, unlike other franchises that have stores order individually from Taiwan.
“We’re able to ship multiple containers and then distribute them to all the different stores throughout the southeast,” Tran said. “Which makes it a better supply for all the stores.”
Gong Cha is widely known for its boba tea and milk foam products. Boba tea, also known as “bubble tea,” contains black tea, ice, milk and tapioca pearls. The pearls originate from the cassava root, most widely known as yuca. Black food coloring or brown sugar is then used to give the pearls their color. Gong Cha makes their tapioca pearls fresh every four hours. Nothing is made offsite, Tran said.
Another franchise that will be housed at the same location, Tran said, is Kremo rolled ice cream. The ice cream is made using a cold plate in front of customers. It stems from the traditional Japanese heating plate known as hibachi and involves the ice cream being rolled up.
Tran said he is planning on a grand opening on either a Friday or Saturday with prizes and giveaways planned. He added that if stores in Georgia that have two-hour waits just to order are any indication, there will be no shortage of attendees.
Tran said he has already had to turn curious customers away and tell them that they are not open yet.
“We actually got a lot of people calling and asking if they can come,” Tran said. “I guess the rumor mill has gone all around town.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 5:34 PM.
