Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria and Patrick Lam.
Victoria and Patrick, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Victoria: Patrick and I come from a blended family and culture. From appearances, surprise, we’re Asian. But our family comes from both Chinese and Vietnamese roots. We grew up speaking Cantonese and watching our grandparents’ favorite Hong Kong dramas. Our parents are fluent in both Cantonese and Vietnamese.
Patrick: And to add to our ambiguous Asian identities, we grew up eating the best food. Our dad is a phenomenal cook and is highly talented at making the most rich, delicious Vietnamese and Cantonese cuisines. We actually come from a family of chefs and restaurateurs.
Victoria: Currently, our parents are one of the core suppliers to Asian restaurants in Denver. And we want to follow in our family’s legacy, but we also want to create our own legend.
Patrick: When I think about the foods I love, the first thing that comes to mind is bubble tea. When we were kids, Victoria and I were often the only Asian kids. So we felt like outsiders a lot. But when our parents would take us to get bubble tea as a treat, we would always see other kids like us. At boba/bubble tea shops, we met more Asians than we have anywhere else. Seeing and connecting with others who looked like us and understood the challenge of growing up Asian in America was everything to me.
Victoria: You see, growing up Asian-American is wild. You have immigrant parents who gave up their life to move to America so that you can live the American dream. Growing up, I was always being pulled towards being American, then being pulled towards being Asian. But it doesn’t work like that. As Asian-Americans, it’s our responsibility to show our community our history, pride, and culture. And running a bubble tea shop is the perfect opportunity for us to do that.
Patrick: When we both agreed upon opening our own bubble tea shop, we had to figure out how we wanted to position ourselves in Denver. For me, I wanted to create a city-center, a place where people could meet up, get together, and just be merry. Hey, maybe even make some new friends like how we did as kids.
Victoria: And I really wanted to show our community what authentic, hand-crafted bubble tea truly tastes like. None of those powders and syrups that get mass-produced. We went directly to Taiwan, the home of bubble tea, to learn from the best so that we could bring back that experience to Denver. And that’s how Tea Street came to fruition.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Patrick: Definitely not haha. We’re a boutique tea house, not a big name retailer or global chain. We have to compete with boba/bubble tea houses with brand recognition across the nation and world. Folks who are familiar with boba/bubble tea are often excited by these chains and will often forgo local tea houses for name brand shops. With that, we have to work tirelessly to establish and build trust in the community and beyond.
Victoria: We’ve been doing this for about two years, and I am so proud of the customer base and following we have. We take pride in our authentic recipes and handcrafted drinks. And our customers recognize that. I do admit that 2020 has been super hard on us though. Like everyone else, COVID-19 has really taken a toll on small businesses. But I think Asian businesses were hit specifically hard. In the early days, there was a lot of disturbing stigma against Asians and fear that our products and people were the source of the pandemic. There still is. It’s discouraging to see people purposely distancing themselves from Asian people because of the pandemic.
Tea Street – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Patrick: Tea Street is a locally owned and operated tea house serving milk teas, fresh fruit teas and smoothies. Each cup of tea is crafted with care and precision, from premium loose-leaf tea directly sourced from Taiwan and specifically curated for our menu. We also enjoy playing with our secret menu and creating seasonal drinks.
Victoria: On top of that, Tea Street does not use any flavored powders or syrups. We use fresh fruits and homemade syrups to provide depth of flavor and texture to our drinks. Syrups and toppings, including but not limited to puddings, herbal jelly, red and mung bean are also made from scratch. Quality and authenticity are at the core of our business.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Patrick: Success to us is growth. We measure our success and growth by how well we handle new challenges. There have been a lot of hurdles and challenges along the way, but we always try and learn from them so we can keep pressing forward.
Victoria: As first time entrepreneurs, almost every obstacle we encounter is new and we see ourselves as successful business owners when we learn how to overcome those challenges. We never expected running a business to always be glorious, but we try every day to be better than yesterday.
Victoria: Other than personal development, for both Patrick and I, we are always looking to build a community. The feeling of belonging is also a marker for success. Since we’re immigrant children, we live very split. We’re both American and Asian while not fully belonging to either. We hope that Tea Street can be both a physical and emotional place in which Asian-Americans can connect those two worlds.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4090 E Mississippi Ave, Denver, CO 80246
- Website: https://www.teastreetdenver.com/
- Phone: (720) 863-8636
- Email: teastreetdenver@gmail.com
- Instagram: teastreetdenver
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teastreetdenver/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tea-street-denver-2
Image Credit:
Alex Guardia
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