New Boba and Ramen Cafe For East Side
National chain Taichi Bubble Tea plans to open first Wisconsin location near Whole Foods and Hacienda.
2028 E. North Ave. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
It’s been several years since the retail space at 2028 E. North Ave. has seen a consistent tenant. A bubble tea business is looking to turn things around.
Sandwiched between Whole Foods grocery store and Hacienda Taproom & Kitchen, the storefront has been home to Nice Times, Snack Boys and The Hotel Foster in the past decade. It’s previously housed music venues Live on North and The Globe East, the latter so beloved that earlier this year yielded a reunion show. In February, new operators made plans to open a sports bar at the address, but that never came to fruition.
The latest concept in the works is Taichi Bubble Tea, a Rochester, NY-based cafe chain that operates nearly 40 locations across the country, including two in Chicago. The upcoming Milwaukee cafe would be the first in the state.
Rochester Institute of Technology graduates Tian Tian and Zining Chen founded Taichi Bubble Tea in 2015.
The fusion cafe sells nearly two dozen varieties of boba drinks including fruit flavors like watermelon and papaya, coffee-based beverages such as mocha and other traditional flavors including taro and matcha. Taichi also offers an assortment of smoothies and other blended drinks, hot teas and iced fruit teas.
A food menu includes seven varieties of ramen, as well as sushi burritos, poke bowls and salads.
Jianming Mei is the franchisee for the Milwaukee cafe. He told Urban Milwaukee that he hopes to open the new business in early 2024. Mei does not operate any other Taichi locations at the moment, but indicated that he would like to grow his portfolio in the future.
Ahead of the opening, Mei is planning to complete a series of alterations to the space, including removing the existing bar and updating the prep area.
According to floor plans submitted with the license application, the 1,984-square-foot first floor space will feature both banquette and traditional seating. Additional seating will be available in the 372-square-foot mezzanine and 265-square-foot outdoor balcony.
Taichi will join a handful of bubble tea cafes that have recently opened on the city’s East Side.
In January, Elite Boba MKE (formerly Le C’s Tea House), opened at 1956 N. Farwell Ave.. Last summer, Kawa owner Selina Zheng opened Tsaocaa, selling Korean fried chicken and tea drinks, at 2224 N. Farwell Ave. The cafe is located less than a block from the proposed Taichi Bubble Tea.
Another boba cafe, SereniTea, is in the works less than a mile northeast, at 2575 N. Downer Ave.
Once open, Taichi’s proposed hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., according to a license application.
More information is available on the business’s Facebook page.
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