Feb 13, 2018
By Yara Zayas
TAMPA — With the rising popularity surrounding boba, it comes to no surprise that people can now enjoy a brand-new spot for the delicious dessert beverage. Boba is a Taiwanese tea-based delicacy made from tapioca.
Chewy Boba opened its doors Jan. 11. It’s located on Fowler Avenue near the University of South Florida.
“We already have five stores in Orlando, Florida and one in Las Vegas,” said Steven Page, the manager at Chewy Boba. “This is a great location. We get a lot of traffic from Chipotle and then the shopping center here is really good too.”
Visitors can choose from an exotic menu that showcases flavors such as jasmine, mango, passion fruit, and ginger honey.
“Our most popular are Thai and taro and original milk tea and honeydew. Those are the ones we have on tap,” said Page. “We also have other popular flavors like our blended specialties such as California Dreamin.”
As customers enter the shop, they are brought into a creatively unique atmosphere filled with various pieces of art, books, board games, and arcade cabinets like “Dance Dance Revolution” and “X-Men.” There are several tables and couches for people to sit and relax.
“The DDR machine, when it’s going, gets people in here all the time trying to play that,” said Page.
The shop also offers an assortment of macarons to complement the boba.
Customers can also participate in video game contests during certain weekends. Page described it as a great way to hang out and make some new friends.
“We have tournaments that we run for fighting games every other Friday and then we have Smash Bros. Tournaments every other Saturday as well,” he said. “There are no small spaces, people aren’t cramping together, everyone can walk around, it’s really great.”
Some of the artwork inside the store portrays characters, such as Chewbacca and Boba Fett from the “Star Wars” movie franchise. One of the founders of the company, Quan Vu, explained that the similarity between the name of the store and the movie was merely a coincidence.
“I’m an artist by trade, graphic designer, animator, illustrator and I do video productions,” he said. “I just came up with a few characters that kind of intertwined with the whole Boba thing and it worked out good.”
Vu originally started his business as a trademark license under a different company called Lollicup back in 2002. He explained how they would have to create their own menus and advertisement, even though he was paying for those services.
“They weren’t providing,” said Vu. “So, we decided that we would just switch over completely and start our own brand.”
Chewy Boba also makes for a great place to study, especially for students that attend USF.
“We actually encourage USF students – they get a 10 percent discount,” said Page. “Students come in here all the time looking to study and kind of just hanging out. We got chill music all day.”
People can enjoy their time at Chewy Boba Monday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
