Tea House Restaurant Opens on Durant

Students will now have a new place to spend late nights on Southside.

An Asian-themed tea house restaurant opens at 4:30 p.m. today in the vacant lot that had housed Wall Berlin, a popular Durant Way coffee shop.

The Old Tea House, which seats more than 40 people, will stay open until 1 a.m., later than other popular Southside hangouts such as Caffe Strada and Boba Cafe.

It is part of a five-store chain targeting college students. Other stores are located near UC Davis, Cornell University, and State University of New York, Binghamton-all opened within the last two years.

"This is a place I want everyone to enjoy," said Richard Chen, the owner of the chain. "Not just Asian students, but everyone at Berkeley. It's for the whole population."

Although his business straddles both coasts, Chen, 22, was born in Berkeley and grew up in Moraga.

He stumbled on the idea of running a tea house almost by chance while completing a class project for a hotel administration course at Cornell University.

In class, Chen and his classmates tested their culinary, managerial and artistic ideas in an assignment to open their own restaurants.

The students picked themes out of a hat. Chen's team ended up with an Asian theme.

They titled their restaurant "Asian Fusion," concocting various Asian dishes and tapioca drinks. After students and residents gave the project rave reviews, Chen, then a college senior, decided to open his own restaurant.

The new Berkeley location will open its doors at 4:30 p.m. today. The first 100 Tapioca milk tea drinks will be free.

Chen says he hopes for a turnout of at least 300 people, to match numbers at the chain's opening near UC Davis.

Restaurant owners and managers in the Durant Food Court area expressed nervous anticipation at the tea house's opening.

Many restaurants inside the court have similar menus to the tea house, including noodle soups, pan-fried entrees and fried rice.

Whenever a new business opens, people tend to flock to it, said Anne Huang, manager of Mandarin House, which also sells tapioca drinks.

Other businesses nearby The Old Tea House welcomed the new restaurant and even passed out advertisements.

T.C. Kim, owner of Johnston's Market, said he lost a substantial number of customers after the Wall Berlin closed down last year.

"Since they have been closed, I have been losing my business," Kim said, adding he hopes the tea house customers will be a boon for his store.

Still, some students are skeptical of the tea house hype. After all, there are already a lot of selections to choose from on Durant.

"It all depends on the food and price," said UC Berkeley senior Claudia Wu.

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