A new bubble tea shop is officially finding its home in the new SUB.
At the last AMS Council meeting, it was announced that a bubble tea shop will be opening in the Nest this summer. It will be taking the spot of the former Lowercase coffee shop on the basement level.
Ava Nasiri, AMS President, said that this change was based on student feedback with the goal of providing students with their choice of food options.
“From the perspective of the research team, one key thing we recognized is that bubble tea is popular amongst students,” said Nasiri. “It was both feedback from students, as well as feasibility and likelihood, that it could be something provided [on campus].”
UBC's closest bubble tea shop is currently located in the Village, causing students to have to go out of their way to obtain their bubble tea fix.
According to Nasiri, the bubble tea shop will not offer extensive drink flavours, but will be aiming for product quality over quantity.
"We may not be providing 400 options, but [we will provide] options of better quality,” said Nasiri.
The same research team also determined that there was no longer a need for Lowercase to act as overflow for Uppercase. The reason for its closure was operational rather than financial.
“One thing that we recognized is that it’s so efficient at Uppercase that we no longer need Lowercase,” said Nasiri. “The team at Uppercase is doing so phenomenally well and students are working so efficiently that we haven’t had the issue of super long line-ups.”
The bubble tea shop follows the consistently growing list of AMS businesses. It joins The Pit, Pie R Squared, and Peko Peko – where every dollar spent goes back to subsidizing student-run services including Safewalk, the food bank, the Speakeasy and tutoring.
In anticipation of the shop’s opening, the AMS will be running a university-wide contest to name it. Students will get the chance to submit a name for the store, and the student who submits the winning name will have a drink named after them. The contest will launch this summer, but there has yet to be a release date set.
As an AMS business, the AMS will determine the food and drink options. It hopes to involve students in the process by hosting consultations, surveys, and focus groups.
“It’s all about accessibility for students and what they want, so that’s where consultation comes in,” said Nasiri. “Our governing principle is that we keep up and stay flexible.”
If you want to have a say in what's on the menu, complete the AMS-wide survey or attend one of two consultation focus groups. The groups will be held on Tuesday, May 17 at 1 P.M. and on Wednesday, May 25 at 5 P.M., in room 3511 on the third floor of the Nest.