Taylor-born boba tea store owner holds grand opening in Hutto
Milestone: First African American owned lounge in franchise
HUTTO — Austin-based Teapioca Lounge has marked a new milestone with the debut of the first Black-owned store in the franchise, officials said.
Located in the Highlights of Hutto Plaza, the store at 571 Ed Schmidt Blvd., Suite C 100, celebrated a recent grand opening as owners Eric and Tonya Thomas held a raffle and hosted performances from the Hutto High School band and cheerleaders, a mariachi band and folklore dance group.
Tonya Thomas is a Taylor native.
“It’s breaking barriers,” Eric Thomas said. “It also … gives hope to those that may not have thought they could open their own business … knowing that it can be done with hard work and perseverance.”
Customers filled the plaza strip, trying free samples as they waited their turn to enter the store.
Members of the Hutto Area Chamber of Commerce also welcomed the store to the community and held a ribbon cutting.
“I think if you look at the turnout, you’re gonna see that it’s going to have a huge impact on the community,” Chamber community representative Connie Gooding said. “This is something that, obviously, we’re thrilled to have here.”
Teapioca Lounge is an Austin-based dessert franchise serving boba tea and Taiwanese shaved ice with almost 20 locations across Texas and a few outside the state, including Oklahoma, Colorado, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Boba tea is a Taiwanese dessert drink traditionally made from black tea, creamer and chewy tapioca pearls sweetened with brown sugar. The drink has evolved to include different bases, such as fruit flavored teas, coffees and smoothies, and different toppings, such as various fruit-flavored jellies and pearls, according to Eater. com.
The couple’s granddaughter introduced them to boba tea and the franchise about three years ago as a new food and business opportunity, knowing they were interested in becoming entrepreneurs.
“Once we got there, we found, oh, this is a busy place, there’s something about it. So, we started going to several of the different businesses around the city, the Teapiocas, and we were like, ‘This is nice,’” Tonya Thomas said. “So, we introduced ourselves to the franchisers, got to know them, started building a relationship, which turned out to be awesome.”
Being born and raised in Taylor and having lived in Hutto before, she knew the location was right for the new venture. The store is the only one in the area that specializes in boba tea.
“I think it’ll be a good impact on the community. We haven’t had too many boba shops here in Hutto. And I know many people would like to get boba and usually have to go to different cities and towns, like Pflugerville and Round Rock … So, I think many people like it because it’s a lot closer to home,” employee Abigail Negrete said.
The couple hopes to expand the store’s delivery service to serve Taylor in addition to Hutto.
“In Hutto, we have a huge family network … and the surrounding communities around us. We all kind of work together — Taylor, Hutto. Everybody’s here as one community,” Tonya Thomas said.
The store started its soft-opening phase June 3 and has already gathered regular customers, Eric Thomas said.
“The community has really come out and supported from day one,” he said.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
