BUSINESS
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015
MIKE WILLIAMS —EO Media Group
EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian
Chevonne Karol, left, cooks tapioca pearls while her husband, Jason, runs the cash register.
BUBBLE
TEA CRAZE
POPS IN
SEASIDE
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — After witnessing
it on the Las Vegas Strip, Jason
and Chevonne Karol decided they
would bring the bubble tea craze
with them when they moved to the
North Coast.
The Karols started in earnest
less than two weeks ago, opening
The Tea Spot in Seaside’s Heritage
Square, next to staples like the
Seaside Candyman and Wheel Fun
Rentals, hoping to catch the spring
break rush.
Jason, formerly of the U.S. Ar-
my’s 101st Airborne, was featured
in a Veterans Day story about his
studies at Clatsop Community
College, and his plans to start a tea
shop in Seaside. One of the only
other places to get the bubble tea
variety is the Saigon Deli, around
the corner on Broadway from The
Tea Spot.
Driving the business’ creation,
though, is Chevonne’s addiction to
bubble tea, which she said started
while she was working at a Hawai-
ian market on the Strip, and a Jap-
anese exchange student co-worker
was bringing her bubble tea from a
nearby tea house.
They moved to the North Coast
from Fort Hood, Texas, last sum-
mer and decided that within the
year, they’d open their first busi-
ness, a bubble tea shop in Seaside.
“It wasn’t planned this soon,”
Jason said, adding that the timing
of opening was meant to catch the
spring break rush — they were a
week early. “But with tax returns
and my disability, it all just came
together financially.”
EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian
The Tea Spot includes black, green and milk tea varia-
tions. Co-owner Chevonne Karol said they mostly avoid
sugary powders, like in the center, opting instead for To-
rani syrups without high-fructose corn syrup for flavoring.
‘I don’t really think it’s about the
money. I think it’s about owning
your own business and offering
the community something it
doesn’t have.’
— Jason Karol
former member of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne who runs
The Tea Spot in Seaside’s Heritage Square with his wife, Chevonne
The shop offers black, green,
jasmine and milk tea, with upward
of 25 different flavors, using To-
rani syrup, and tapioca pearls or
other jellies lining the bottom. The
drinks come in plastic cups with
cellophane seals, perforated by a
large straw that sucks up the mor-
sels with the tea.
They located in Heritage
Square, thinking The Tea Spot
would be complementary to the
nearby cotton candy and saltwater
taffy shops.
Bubble tea — also known as
boba (slang for “big breasts,” be-
cause of the large tapioca pearls in
the bottom) or pearl tea — orig-
inated in Taiwan in 1988. Tea
shops there are commonplace,
said Chevonne, and flavors run the
gamut from the mundane to duri-
on, a thorny, sweet Asian tree fruit
that she described as smelling like
sweaty socks.
“With the unique flavors, you
have to concentrate on the chem-
istry of the drink you’re making,”
Chevonne said, who cooks boba
pearls every three hours for the
teas.
The couple are sticking with
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combined to donate $370,000
to 45 local charities support-
ing low-income families and
children throughout the com-
munities they serve.
“We honor these brokers
because they embody the
spirit of Windermere Stellar
— that of helping to make our
local neighborhoods thrive,”
said Joan Allen, co-owner of
Windermere Stellar. “Their
success comes from providing
their clients with high quality
Clatsop County
Property Transactions
Sellers: Robert D. Scanlan
and Gay Hart
Buyers: Gary W. Peront
and Dawn L. Peront
Address: 89100 Manion
Drive, Warrenton
Price: $679,000
Making
the
Dollar
INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES
BY EDWARD STRATTON
the more common flavors for
now, with some of their tea cus-
tom-blended by Seaside Coffee
Roasters. To make the location fi-
nancially viable, she said, they’ll
need to sell about 1,500 large
drinks a month.
“We’re going to have cotton
candy, because I’m tired of peo-
ple coming and asking for cotton
candy,” Chevonne said about the
downside of being next to candy
shops.
They hope to eventually add a
tea wall, she said, once they find
the right distributor, and eventual-
ly open a second location in Asto-
ria.
“I don’t really think it’s about
the money,” Jason said, who with
Chevonne said they hope to even-
tually provide employment to oth-
ers. “I think it’s about owning your
own business and offering the
community something it doesn’t
have.”
The Tea Spot, in Seaside’s Her-
itage Square at 21 N. Columbia
St., Suite 101, is open from 9 a.m.
to 9 p.m. Monday through Satur-
day and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday,
and is available on Facebook.
Windermere Stellar honors top brokers
CANNON
BEACH
— Windermere Stellar an-
nounced real estate brokers
representing the company’s
Top 10 percent of 2014 pro-
duction.
A combined total of 2,008
real estate transactions in 2014
were handled by these profes-
sionals in the Portland metro
area and the North Coast.
These brokers consistently
play a large role within Wind-
ermere Stellar’s unique cul-
ture of charitable giving. Last
Nancy Nisbet
Seller: Galway Construc-
tion & Design, LLC
Buyer: Susan M. Va-
sey
Address: 310 12th Ave.,
Seaside
Price: $489,000
and personalized service.”
The top 2014 broker from
WKH&DQQRQ%HDFKRI¿FHZDV
Kate Merrell, a self-professed
“real estate junkie.” Before
turning 40, she had built two
new homes and completed
major remodels on three. As
a real estate broker for the
past seven years, she’s helped
buyers and sellers in Cannon
Beach, Arch Cape, Manzanita
and surrounding areas.
The top 2014 brokers from
WKH*HDUKDUWRI¿FHZHUH0H-
lissa Eddy and Barbara Malt-
man.
A native of Gearhart, Ed-
dy’s father was the chief of
police, and her brother serves
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to her real estate career, she
promoted the area for the Sea-
side Chamber of Commerce.
Born and raised in Seaside,
Maltman has nearly 20 years
of experience and specializes
in new construction, ocean
front/view homes and the sec-
ond home market.
Sellers: William M. Roach
and Erin M. Partlow
Buyers: Donald D. Feuz
and Monica F. Odegard-Feuz
Address: 88979 Katie
Court, Seaside
Price: $435,000
Sellers: William E. Peter-
son and Julie A. Peterson
Buyers: Harry Gross and
Karyn Gross
Address: 30 N.W. 17th
Place, Warrenton
Price: $350,000
Sellers: David Russell Ev-
ans and Betty B. Evans
Buyer: Susan M. Sears
Address: 1417 N. Cottage
Ave., Gearhart
Price: $365,000
Seller: Barbara S. Linnett
Buyers: Kathleen Mitchell
and Scott E. Mitchell
Address: 132 Susitna St.,
Cannon Beach
Price: $339,900
Nancy Nisbet
Elixir Coffee, Tea & Flowers
1015 W. Robert Bush Drive
South Bend, Wash.
When did you buy the business?
“Oct. 31, 2013.”
How many employees do you have?
“Right now there aren’t as many, because it’s not as busy.
There are four of us.”
Then in the summer you’ll ramp up?
“Yeah. Five to six, I would say, because they’re all part
time. A lot of students, and my sisters of course. I have three,
so two out of the three work here.”
Why did you decide to buy it?
“It sort of came up last minute. The previous owner ap-
proached me with it. I had actually worked here for her. I
started in July and then I bought the place in October. I had
worked here a few months, and she was looking at transi-
tioning out. She saw my work ethic and decided, ‘There’s no
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hands. I had moved back to the area wanting to adventure into
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to work full time, so I took this part-time job. When she ap-
proached me with the opportunity I thought, ‘Maybe this is
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I’m not making arrangements all day long; I’m not there yet.
Maybe one day.”
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“I did it myself.”
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“There’s different merchandise that’s available. We
switched up the sandwich menu and the coffee menu. Our
baked goods are a new item. I purchase them from Madeline
Dickerson from Pink Poppy Bakery (Long Beach). That’s a
new add-on, homemade baked goods. I’d like to grow in that
area, where we’re selling a dozen scones or a dozen cookies
or whatever it may be.”
How dramatic is the difference between winter and
summer volume?
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was pretty slow. I was looking at my books, and it didn’t pick
up until March or April, because we mainly base our custom-
ers on tourism. I’ve seen more consistent regulars through-
out the year, though. Surprisingly this month hasn’t been too
bad. I think the weather might have something to do with it,
but numbers are extremely up over last year. January is the
hardest month. There is community support, and I’m getting
more of my regulars coming in. Some businesses shut down
in January. Because of my regulars, I don’t have to. I stay pret-
ty steady.”
Have you had any surprises in learning the business?
“I kind of knew what I was getting into. I had a back-
ground in business. I worked for my parents for quite some
time. I was manager of the Goose Point Oyster retail shop
before buying the coffee shop.”
Do you have a favorite drink?
“To be honest with you I drink drip coffee. We do have
a few popular drinks. Happy Tea is our most popular tea,
it’s an iced tea. Lavender-Lemon Spritzer is popular. The
other one is a Bulletproof. It’s got organic butter, coconut
oil and then an Americano. We throw it in the blender and
froth it up. It’s really high in omega-3s. Sort of allows that
coffee in the morning but without the crash. It’s a healthier
option. That’s an avenue I want to go to. We do do glu-
ten-free bread and I’m in the process of changing my menu
to add salads.”
Do you have any plans to expand the services you offer
or are you happy with things the way they are?
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say that I should expand and put in a drive through, but no. I
can’t be in two places at once. And I’ve got a 2-year-old. I’d
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envision, having a nice big greenhouse.”
— Mike Williams