A new bubble tea shop is coming to Columbus this month. What residents should know
A bubble tea franchise plans to open its second location this month after two years of success in Columbus.
Kung Fu Tea will hold a grand opening for its second location at Columbus Park Crossing as early as Nov. 3, owner Peter Chen said, but this date may be pushed back. During the grand opening, the shop will hold a buy one, get one free drink promotion, he said, and customers should follow the shop’s Instagram page for more information on the opening date.
Bubble tea was brought to the United States by Taiwanese migrants and consists of black tea, milk, ice and chewy tapioca pearls in its basic form. Kung Fu Tea sells a variety of flavors of the classic tea, milk tea, punch, slushes and espresso.
“(Kung Fu Tea) is a place where customers can come in and try different flavors,” Chen said. “We have a big menu, so it’s going to give them a new experience every time they come in.”
He began planning to open a second Kung Fu Tea about a year ago, and after finding partners he was able to form a team to get the new location. Columbus Park Crossing was a good fit because of the large population of people that travels through it, Chen said.
“The foot traffic is way better than all the other places that we had in mind,” he said.
The 1,600 square foot space that was leased to Kung Fu Tea was formerly a Great American Cookie before becoming vacant after the owner sold his franchise rights to Marble Slab Creamery, said Dan Giordano, senior director of retail at AVR, owners of Columbus Park Crossing North.
Kung Fu Tea joins Burlington Stores and Conn’s HomePlus as recent additions to the shopping center on Whittlesey Boulevard.
“We are excited to have worked with Peter, an entrepreneur and local small business owner,” Giordano said. “The Kung Fu concept is a great addition to our lineup at Columbus Park Crossing, and we look forward to working with other local business people at the center.”
‘Explaining what bubble tea is’
The franchise was founded in Queens, New York and was brought to Muscogee County two years ago by franchisee Peter Chen when he saw potential in Columbus.
Chen worked for eight years at Kung Fu Tea while living in New York, and learned more about the business. Because of his experience, he decided he wanted to open a shop of his own.
Initially, he thought about opening a location in Atlanta, but after visiting a friend there he felt the market in Georgia’s biggest city was too saturated. Chen decided to try the state’s second largest city, which was Columbus.
He opened the first location in March of 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the beginning business was very slow, Chen said. Aside from social distancing and COVID restrictions, he found another hurdle to bringing the franchise to Columbus.
“The biggest challenge I have is explaining what bubble tea is to customers because they have never heard of it before,” Chen said.
By the summer of 2020, business began to pick up and take off, he said.
Chen has fallen in love with Columbus since moving here, he said, adding that he wanted to move south because of how expensive New York is and the better financial opportunities he has here.
The city was a good location for his Kung Fu Tea shop, he said, because there wasn’t any competition from other bubble tea shops.
“And the weather is hot most of the time,” Chen said. “Which is perfect for things like this.”
