Spilling the Kung Fu Tea

Kung Fu Tea, located on 315 Greenwich Street, opened its doors for the last time on March 15. Two days earlier, on March 13, the branch announced its closure.

Kung Fu Tea, a popular bubble tea store, was a familiar hang-out location for Stuyvesant students. Not only did it provide students with a relaxed area to socialize, but it also offered an assortment of games to play, including chess, Monopoly, Cards Against Humanity, and BattleShip. The Greenwich Street branch was often very crowded during after-school hours.

“Kung Fu Tea was a huge part of my freshman year. Whenever I go inside, I get a nostalgic feeling. I remember going there every day after school and staying there for hours to play Monopoly with my friends,” sophomore Sean Fung said. “It really served as a place for people to bond and to get to know each other. I believe that I made most of my close friends at Kung Fu Tea.”

“It’s important to me because going there is always associated with the elation of a Friday. I always feel really light when I go there, and it’s been one of my favorite places around Stuyvesant,” freshman Suah Chung said.

Sam, a worker at Kung Fu Tea, explained that the closure was due to a change in the ownership of the building. “The landowner sold the entire apartment. We were informed we had to vacate the place,” he said on behalf of his manager, Ryan Chang.

Students will now have to find alternative places to spend time. Though many Stuyvesant students are upset at the closing of Kung Fu Tea, others have found alternative places such as Jupioca, another bubble tea store.

Junior Jeffrey Chen agreed, noting that Jupioca does not foster the same environment Kung Fu Tea did. “In terms of bubble tea, Jupioca is a good second option. However, Jupioca does not simply work in terms of hangout places because it doesn’t have the organized tables, board games, and overall vibe that Kung Fu Tea had. In terms of hanging out, doing work, or playing board games, Whole Foods serves as a good and popular alternative,” he said. Though Kung Fu Tea has closed, many students speculate that the future opening of a second bubble tea shop near Stuyvesant is not far away due to the high demand in the Stuyvesant community and large hole in the Tribeca bubble tea market.

Before closing, Kung Fu Tea offered a two-day promotion. Customers were offered one free topping with any large sized drink on March 14. On the official closing day, March 15, customers could get a free upgrade with any medium, one-topping drink. The shop was crowded with Stuyvesant students on both days. Kung Fu Tea signed off by saying, “Thank you for the past three years of patronage.”