Today we’d like to introduce you to Davin Huang and Kimberly Le-Huang.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It all started with a family background in the tea business concept in 1992 when my older brother had a tea stand in Taiwan. All of the older siblings would help my brother with his tea business while I resided in America. In 1999, as I have been wanting to bring my brothers tea shop concept and recipes to the U.S., the Teahouse brand came to mind.
By 2000, I opened up my first family-run tea business inside Hong Kong City Mall, Houston, Texas. I started the Teahouse company with only $3000 cash in hand and the rest in personal loans, bank loans and credit cards. I had no idea of the outcome, however, I was confident in the quality of my products and our family recipes.
I took the risk of opening a tea shop while being the fourth tea brand to open in Houston and the third tea brand to open in Hong Kong City Mall alone. Around 2003, it was rumored that the Teahouse in Hong Kong City Mall had a 30-minute wait in line to place the order and another 30-minute wait to pick up the drinks.
People from all over the greater Houston would come to shop at Hong Kong City Mall and grab a drink from the Teahouse. We were the first tea shop to open in Houston using the traditional Taiwanese method. Each drink is handcrafted and handshakes to order, as it is still till this day. In 2002, I opened up the first tea shop outside of Chinatown. It was my second Teahouse branch located on Westheimer and Shepherd.
My frequent customers from HK City Mall and also my competitors thought I was crazy to even think about opening a tea shop concept in a non-Asian dominant area. Despite the minimal moral business support, I did it anyway. I was confident in not only my products and traditional methods but I was also confident in my quality of service. Fast forward till today, I currently have a total of 14 locations: 8 corporate stores and 6 franchises. With three more franchises waiting to be opened, the total will soon to be 17 locations.
Above all, my second Teahouse on Westheimer and Shepherd is still rocking at the top of sales compared to all locations. The risk I took on opening an Asian marketed product to a non-Asian dominant area was completely worth it. I thought about franchising many years before but I was already content with the 6 corporate owned stores.
It was until 2014 when I started franchising my brand. What changed my mind? My wife became pregnant and the small life that we created was the main driving force to build a legacy for my family.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it was definitely not a smooth road. In the business world, it is inevitable to run into obstacles. Obstacles and challenges make me stronger and with each challenge that I overcome to make my business more stable. There are no guidance or books in business for me to follow. It’s a learning process and there’s always room for improvement. The daily challenge is keeping everyone happy: your employees and your customers.
Purely, knowing how to handle people or public relations is extremely important and very difficult. There is no one standard on keeping employees happy or keeping our customers satisfied. Most of the times it’s a case-by-case situation. Every situation is unique. After being in business for over 18 years, as a team, we are still learning how to handle new challenges within our Teahouse team and with customers that are new and old. Though sometimes it boils down to the fact that we can’t always please everyone.
On a different aspect, I also face challenges as an entrepreneur or being a risk-taker. In 2004, I opened up a location in Downtown Houston. I was very confident in this location. The location I chose was a corner site, right at the corner of Main Street and Commerce Street with the University of Houston-Downtown across from my location and a bayou that was part of the city’s plans to develop and transform it to become a “river walk” like in San Antonio.
Many businesses jump on the opportunity foreseeing the potential and growth of our Downtown Houston that never rolled out as planned. Many businesses lost money and had to shut down during that era. Unfortunately, Teahouse was one of those businesses that had to close down too. There are many struggles about trust with management and partnerships in business. This struggle is very hard to overcome because it always consists of someone imposing deception on to me as the owner.
I’ve gotten burned quite a few times by people that have taken their time on actually earning my trust. There were people that were close enough to me to be labeled as “brothers” and there are those that were part of my circle of family friends that have betrayed and breach the trust they earned from me. These types of obstacles will go along with me for the rest of my life because it shaped me into who I am as a businessman and as a person.
I believe all obstacles and struggles are blessings in disguise. All of the trials and errors, mistakes and deceptions made me smarter and stronger today.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Teahouse Tapioca and Tea – what should we know?
My company is a beverage business specializing in bubble tea. We are known for our delicious Tapioca pearls/Boba Balls, our variety selections of Teas and our Cream Teas/Milk Teas. Our number one selling drink is called the “Teahouse Cream Tea”, which is black tea with a non-dairy creamer. This number one selling drink is made with the original Taiwanese recipe and method.
For a small business that is known for quick turnovers of employees, I am proud to have a company that has more than a handful of employees who remain loyal and have a passion for growing along with the business itself. The Teahouse has team members that currently range from 5 years to 14 years of employment and ongoing. Of course, it’s difficult to keep everyone happy, but being able to establish a loyal team that has stuck along with the many ups and downs and constant changes for improvement says a lot about the ethics of the company.
There are many competitors out there with the similar business ideas and concepts as The Teahouse. However, what sets up apart from others are the three main aspects. One, we treat our employees like family and express our appreciation in many ways. We make sure there is open communication between all team members and all levels of management. This way we can keep the work environment positive. We have had plenty of employees resign and who asked to come back to be part of the Teahouse team again because they couldn’t find a workplace that was fun and caring like the Teahouse.
Two, we make sure quality of service is our priority. The Teahouse does it’s best to train the team to be personable with their customers. Each Teahouse has its own dynamic and culture. We make sure that each location can find their culture by getting to know their customers more. And it all starts with asking the customers for their name. One of the things we do that other competitors do not is calling the customers by their name to receive their drinks.
Three, the Teahouse focuses on the quality of products. We want to make sure that what we serve to our customers are quality ingredients that we would serve to our own family. We have products that can be customized to people who are health conscience and of course, we have products that cater to people who just want to indulge. These three aspects seem simple.
And anyone would think that all businesses should focus on employee appreciation, positive work environment, quality customer service and quality of products. But I believe what completely sets the Teahouse apart as a whole is the foundation of our business, where and how it all started. Our business rooted in good morals and core values as an honest run business.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Our good morals, core values, honest business and constant improvements are the most important qualities and characteristics of the company’s success.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2089 Westheimer Road
Houston, Texas 77098 - Website: www.teahousett.com
- Phone: 832-468-7388
- Email: drink@teahousett.com
- Instagram: theteahousett
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teahousett/
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