Following the beginning of The International Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon on Friday, Hello Boba Café had its grand opening Saturday. The café was hoping for a great turnout during the festival.
Hello Boba Café is owned and operated by Renee Tu who grew up drinking boba tea in Massachusetts before moving to Macon seven years ago. She is a boba enthusiast and decided to make a career selling boba while being in an environment she loves.
“I grew up with boba, k-pop and anime and wanted to create a place everyone could enjoy great drinks and snacks, watch anime, play board games and listen to k-pop too,” Tu said.
Tu was hoping to open up her café sooner, but COVID-19 delayed her plans. In light of the pandemic, Tu has now been able to open up her store just in time to celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Tu loves boba and is now looking forward to sharing her love of boba (as well as other drinks and snacks) with the Macon community.
“We want to share the delicious magic of boba with our community,” Tu said. “We enjoy serving all customers. Ranging from first-timers to tenured 'boba-niacs,' we invite and welcome all customers to stop by and have a good time."
Hello Boba also hopes to provide Macon and the surrounding areas with a unique, immersive experience within the café.
“We offer a variety of beverages and snacks to please the palette, comfy chairs to sit and relax, and a never-ending stream of both K-pop and Anime,” Tu said. “We have board games, card games, manga and a welcoming atmosphere!”
Members of the Mercer community have been enjoying the cuisine available at Hello Boba Café. Matt Adams, an IT support specialist at the Mercer IT help desk, enjoyed his time at the café and plans on going there regularly.
“I really like boba tea and flavored teas in general,” Adams said. “The general vibe of the shop is right up my alley. The staff are also really nice.”
Adams’s go-to drink is a lychee milk tea with boba with a normal or light sweetness. Adams also likes trying some of the other snacks and drinks they have, such as the various flavors of Kit Kat they have that are not typically found in the United States.
“I’m glad that we have a boba tea shop here in Macon,” Adams said. “I’ve been to a few places that offer it, but never as their main thing. Having all that variety opens up a lot of possibilities. It also feels like a nice space to hang out and spend time with friends or meet new people downtown.”
Adams says he will be coming back with some friends during the Cherry Blossom Festival and hopes to enjoy the environment and get a chance to try their Shimmering Sakura Lemonade special with strawberry jelly.
Hello Boba Café has big plans coming up, including pre-planned gaming nights available soon. There will be a sign-up for those interested that will be announced after the Cherry Blossom Festival.
The café will be expanding its menu soon to include more snacks for its customers to expand its flavor options. Tu has bigger plans than that for the future of the café, but she said she does not want to give too much away.
