Tea Bar Finds a New Home

April 2, 2008

By Donna Isabell Walker
STAFF WRITER

O-CHA, the popular downtown tea bar, has a new home.

The café, which was originally locate don North Main Street, closed last May. But loyal customers, drawn by the dozens of varieties of teas, lobbied for O-CHA’s return, said owner Mallie Majarais.

She wasn’t looking to reopen O-CHA, Majarais said, but it was hard to find buyers for the restaurant equipment from the old location. So when a new space opened up, “we thought we had to reopen,” she said.

Three weeks ago, O-CHA opened in a new location, 300 River St., in the River Place Development.

"We’re focusing on the teas," Majarais said, so the food menu is scaled down a bit. There will still be pastries and desserts, as well as light lunch items, such as pasta salads and stuffed croissants. But beverages, including coffee and bubble tea, which flavored with pearls of tapioca, are the star of the show.

With more than 40 varieties of hot tea alone, O-CHA has introduced many local folks to the nuances of tea, she said. “A lot of people say that they have switched to only tea,” Majarais said.

For more information, call 283-6702.