A local boba tea and mochi shop is opening a third location in Lake Norman
A new locally owned shop to pick up fruity and sweet boba tea creations — B&K Tea Cafe — is heading to Lake Norman this summer.
The premium bubble tea cafe carrying fruit teas, milk teas and specialty creations, along with mochi ice cream, will be located near Buddy’s Seafood Market, Clutch Coffee and Jersey Mike’s, across from Little Caesars Pizza in Mooresville.
Partners Bobby Cain and Kristen Compton, who grew up together in Kannapolis and have been best friends since middle school, got their start as a food truck in 2021. The inspiration for a bubble tea business came from their time at UNC-Chapel Hill, where Cain worked at a boba shop.
Since the beginning, things have come together quickly. The pair opened their first brick-and-mortar location in Concord in May 2022. A Kannapolis location followed in February 2023, as their drinks — and their TikToks — became popular with young customers, especially.
“We just like to keep the authenticity of what bubble tea is — a shaken ice drink that you can add toppings to,” Cain said.
Now, Cain is set to branch off a bit and open a Lake Norman location of B&K Tea Cafe in July or August on his own.
“We have grown pretty fast. I think it’s because we’re really passionate about what we do. Me and Kristen are pretty involved in our business,” Cain said.
Customers can pick drink from the list and add boba, jelly or poppers to further customize their drinks. Prices from about $5-$10.
“It’s a really fun experience,” Cain said.
Big hits with customers include the shop’s Tiger Milk Tea — a brown sugar milk tea with a brown sugar drizzle — and Strawberry Milk Tea. “Those two are super super popular,” Cain said, adding that the Taro Milk Tea’s coconut vanilla flavoring comes in a close third.
His personal favorite: Oolong Milk Tea, which he said has “kind of a nutty and woody flavor.” His partner, Compton, enjoys the Winter Melon Milk Tea. “When it’s made into a syrup, it has a roasted caramel flavor to it,” Cain said.
The shops each rotate their mochi ice cream flavors — sourced from New York-based Mochidoki — so check for availability. It sells for $9.50 per box, which includes four pieces of mochi in flavors such as strawberry and vanilla chip.
While you’re there, you can also browse around the shop’s selection of B&K tumblers, shirts, hats, boba plushies, metal straws, stickers and B&K branded loose leaf tea bags.
B&K Tea Cafe
Location: 115 Commons Drive, Ste F, Mooresville, NC. 28117 (open summer 2023)
Location: 17 Union St N, Concord, NC 28025
Location: 103 West Ave, Kannapolis, NC. 28081
Cuisine: Bubble tea, boba
Instagram: @bk.teacafe
