The bubble tea craze continues to grow in Guelph.
I ❤️ Boba has opened up a location at 70 Macdonell St., Unit 71, in a long standing building in the heart of Downtown Guelph, taking up shop in the former Macdonell Village Grill restaurant location.
"It really does mean a lot," manager Albrt Thang told GuelphToday. "There's really a rich history with this building in general, and just being able to use the building itself – and also bring something new, but also still keeping the original building as well – is something very important."
But it's not just the building that was appealing. The downtown core itself was quite the draw for the franchise, with Thang feeling a sense of community in Guelph.
It's the fifth location for I ❤️ Boba, with the others located in Mississauga (two), Burlington and Milton.
A sixth spot is listed as coming soon on Jamieson Parkway in Cambridge.
"We're just trying to connect with the community in general, and just offer something different with our drinks," he said. "It can be another place where people come downtown, and if they're ever looking for any type of (refreshment), if they want to take a walk downtown as well, they can just stop by and take a drink and just enjoy the downtown area as a whole."
For those who aren't familiar with bubble tea, or boba, it's a traditional Taiwanese style tea drink, but modernized to be served in a variety of ways, from coffee to smoothies, slushes, juices and more.
The bubbles can be added to the bottom of your drink by request.
"I've been doing this for six years now, and when we first started off, bubble tea wasn't really like very big," Thang said. "People knew about it, but they didn't really know what it was.
"I think now, it's becoming very trendy and it's very popular now."
At least 10 jobs have been added as a result.
Thang said the business is always looking to hire, and encourages anyone to drop off a resume at the store.
"It's been okay so far," he said of the reception since opening. "I think we just need to get our name out there more, and have people trying our drinks, and just spreading the word out a little more."
The plan is to hold a grand opening around July 1.
