Bubble tea store opens on Baylis Street Wagga after year of planning

He could not find a good place to buy bubble tea. The Taiwanese tea craze was almost unheard of in the city.

"Around Wagga, there's a lot of coffee choices, but not a lot of tea," Mr Banga said.

"I thought there might be a market for it. I started asking around and a lot of the [younger people] said they like bubble tea but I couldn't find anywhere that served it in Wagga.

"I've never heard of an unsuccessful bubble tea store, it's becoming very popular."

All year, Mr Banga has been working towards a December deadline to open his bubble tea store on Baylis Street.

While some of the merchandise for the store has had its arrival delayed by at least a month, the soft opening has not been thwarted by the virus.

Watching all the COVID-19 restrictions create challenges for businesses - especially hospitality businesses - did not phase him at all. Instead, Mr Banga said he saw the timing as a "great opportunity".

"I have a mentor in another town, in Shepparton, she survived COVID by going online and I think that's what I'll focus on in the future," Mr Banga said.

"That's what people want. Quick, easy, delivery."

After a couple of days of intense training, Mr Banga and his four employees opened the store at 9am on Saturday.

But with each new customer comes new opportunities for the staff to learn their trade, and to teach the community about bubble tea.

"I've put up a lot of signs around [the store] to explain what everything is, so that [customers] can try something out and hopefully expand their flavours as they come back in the future," Mr Banga said.

Even before his official opening, Mr Banga said he was fielding excited well-wishes from his soon-to-be costumers.

"All day [on Friday], especially at lunchtime, people were walking past and asking 'are you open yet'? I just said 'come back [on Saturday]," he said.