Quincy After meeting in Atlanta while they were in elementary school, Richie and Tram Supaswud relocated to Quincy with the intention of starting a family and eventually opening the city’s first boba drink shop.
Then COVID interfered.
Then three children interfered.
Finally, the Supaswuds opened Qboba at 3600 Maine. After a soft opening the week of June 14–20, the business is now open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Marv Hufford started a store in the same building forty years ago in June 1986, bringing the TCBY frozen yogurt concept to Quincy. In order to give Quincy another location to sample boba drinks—also referred to as bubble tea, pearl tea, bubble milk tea, boba, boba fruit tea, or tapioca tea—which have been becoming more and more popular across the country, the Supaswuds are now remodeling the facility (they still need chairs, tables, and signage).
It’s similar to iced coffee, Tram said. You can make a fresh fruit tea, which is essentially a sweet tea with flavoring, or you can make milk tea and sweetener with any flavoring syrup you like. We use every kind of topping. We had boba with brown sugar. We can put some of our jellies in there. There are custards such egg pudding, mango jelly, and grass jelly. In essence, it’s dessert in a cup.
Richie suggested trying something refreshing if you don’t want a drink and don’t want to experience the flavor of coffee. It won’t tear your pocketbook apart if you’ve ever been intrigued by something new.
Tapioca balls, which are starch-based and located at the bottom of the cup, are a traditional accompaniment to milk boba tea. The balls resemble a cross between Jell-O and chewing gum in consistency. While the majority of tapioca pearls are black, some are translucent, and some are white.
Originating in Taiwan in the 1980s, boba tea comes in hot and cold varieties and is usually served in a plastic cup with a wide mouth that is sealed with plastic wrap. Extra toppings cost an additional 50 cents each, and they usually cost about $7 each.
According to Richie, you can get it before lunch, after dinner, or after lunch. It resembles a smoothie in certain ways.
According to Richie, he had his first boba drink in Atlanta when he was fourteen years old.
“I can assure you that there is a boba shop every five miles if you visit Atlanta at this time,” he remarked. It’s on television. When people travel out of town, you can observe them visiting particular stores. It is present everywhere. When you return to Quincy, it’s nowhere, isn’t it? To satisfy your craving for something classic like this, you will need to go two hours to Springfield or St. Louis.
Sharetea, Kung Fu Tea, and Gong Cha are well-known international chains that serve the beverages. In the US, Boba Guys is well-known, and Tiger Sugar, Xing Fu Tang, and Ten Ren’s Team are among them.According to Fortune Business Insights, the bubble tea industry in the United States is expected to reach $865.87 million by 2032, up from $496.75 million in 2025.
According to Richie, young folks like the drinks. As venues to meet up with pals, tea shops have helped the 20–29 age group develop a social lifestyle. Being just a few blocks from Quincy High School, he believes that Qboba will become a popular hangout for high school kids.
Richie, who works in the Blessing Hospital’s IT department, claimed to have the best WiFi equipment. We want high school students to come here, feel at ease, be able to work on something, and have a drink. Perhaps they don’t want to see their home; they only want to meet with someone.
A drive-up window from the building’s TCBY days is still present, but Richie claims there isn’t enough space on the property to handle the amount of automobiles required to comply with local regulations.
Before moving into their own premises, the Supaswads began selling boba tea at the Saturday morning farmers markets in Washington Park in 2023. According to Adams County property tax records, they are leasing from Ellington Hills LLC, which purchased the property from Personal Finance Company, LLC of Baltimore for $290,000 in September 2024. Ellington Hills’ agent is Matthew Brink.
